Firestorm
by Amos Whirly
Summary: COMPLETE The Teen Titans reunite after many long years and find Robin, now calling himself Nightwing. And when an old enemy returns, they must all work together to save the world.
1. Prologue: Memory

Per request of TribeKitten, I have posted this in the Teen Titans section of Fanfiction.net as well as in the Batman section!

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**Firestorm**

**Batman/Teen Titans**

**By Amos Whirly**

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**Introduction: Memory**

They call me _Nightwing_. 

I think it fits me. I wear black, only highlighted with blue. My hair is black and long. My mask, which only covers the bridge of my nose and my eyes, is black.

And I'm alone. I'm no one's partner. I'm no one's superior.

I'm just me.

Dick Grayson by day. Nightwing in shadows.

As I sit in the reclining chair in my loft, I stare blankly at the ceiling. It is not the first time I've let my thoughts wander.

I can still remember the horror of watching my parents fall to their death. It was needless, a stunt executed only for a small-time crook to collect insurance money from our circus. I was eleven years old.

I was alone then too, until _he _showed up.

Bruce Wayne, multi-billionaire and all-around klutz. I had no idea what he saw in me. I guess, in a way, I still don't. He took me in. He raised me. He dried my tears and made me forget my nightmares. He took care of me. Well, him and Alfred, Bruce's loyal butler. It was a good life. And it got even better once I discovered Bruce's dark secret.

Bruce Wayne was Batman, the caped crusader who protected Gotham City from the evils of marauding psychopaths. 

_The_ Batman, with a cool car and a cool jet and a secret cave full of awesome gadgets. At first, I couldn't believe it. Clumsy Bruce Wayne was responsible for the capture and arrest of countless villains.

But it was true.

After many long months, I _finally _convinced him to let me help him. He started training me. He taught me everything. _Everything_. Martial arts. Mathematics. Computers. Weapons. Warfare. He taught me how to think, how to act, how to move, and how to live. 

He taught me how to be a hero.

We worked the night together. Batman and Robin.

Robin.

What a stupid name. It seems so innocent now. So much like the stupid little boy I used to be.

Then, life got rocky.

I was so tired of living in his shadow, so tired of listening to him all the time, so frustrated with obeying his every command just because he thought he knew better than I did.

We fought.

I left.

I was fifteen.

I hooked up with a group of misfit superheroes, and we started living together, protecting another hapless city. And before I knew it, we became friends. The five of us made an unstoppable team.

Cyborg, a mechanically altered teenager, was the closest thing to a best friend I'd ever had. We shared many of the same hobbies, as well as the same sense of humor.

Beast Boy, a metamorph who could change into any kind of animal, was a dork. He was so stupid, but he was probably the most loyal person I had ever met in my life. Aside from Alfred, that is.

Raven—oh, Raven. I never understood her. I never really connected with her. Dark, distant, and cynical—I guess she just reminded me way too much of Bruce for me to ever really like her.

And then there was Starfire.

Wow. Just the thought of her fills me with a warmth I can't explain. 

Starfire was an alien. She was kind, sweet, compassionate, beautiful, and innocent. So innocent that she had no idea what she was getting herself into. Earth, along with all its customs and traditions, was totally foreign to her. I caught her once drinking mustard.

Mustard.

A tangy yellow beverage, she called it.

She made me laugh. She made me happy. Something I hadn't felt in a very very long time.

We called ourselves the Teen Titans. 

Another stupid name for another bunch of stupid kids who thought they could actually make a difference in the world.

Eventually, while I was working with the Titans, Bruce and I started talking again. We stayed in contact, and he even pulled us out of a few jams. Surreptitiously, of course. If he had actually shown his face, he knew I would have been angry. Mostly all the help he provided us with came in the form of financial support.

After all, it takes a lot of money to protect a city. And it takes even more to keep five teenagers in clothing that actually fits, not to mention the amount of food that had to be stored in the fridge. 

But, like all good things do, the Titans eventually faded. We stopped Slade once and for all, and the city no longer needed us. We thought about staying together—even relocating to another city—but we finally concluded that it would be best to go our separate ways.

It hurt.

I admit it freely.

It hurt to watch Raven and Beast Boy and Cyborg walk away, and I felt like my heart had been ripped out as I watched Starfire flying into the heavens, returning to her home planet.

I was eighteen years old, and I was alone.

Again.

So I did the only thing I could do.

I went back to Gotham.

I went back to Bruce.

For a few months, we barely spoke to each other. The tension between us was so thick that the sharpest batarang couldn't have penetrated it.

At last, Alfred couldn't take it any more. He demanded that we make peace.

And we did.

The one thing Bruce and I always agreed on was Alfred. We would have done anything for him.

We made up, and life returned to abnormal. I went to college. I dated, although I never really forgot Starfire. I found myself drawn to a certain girl at school, mostly because the fact that she had red hair. 

Like Starfire. 

Her name was Barbara Gordon, the commissioner's daughter. Imagine my surprise when Barb revealed a secret of her own.

Batgirl.

Geez, and I thought Robin was a stupid name. Not hard to see who _she _idolized.

I finally finished college, and I came up with a crazy idea. I wanted to see the world. So I talked Bruce into it. He agreed. He thought it was a good idea.

So I left. I went everywhere. Saw everything. Talked to every person I could find.

I looked for Cyborg. No luck. Beast Boy and Raven were nowhere to be found. I was truly disappointed, but I hadn't really planned on ever seeing them again anyway. I guess.

After a while I came back to Gotham, and—imagine my surprise—when I found that Bruce had taken in yet another orphan with a score to settle.

I admit it even now. 

Tim Drake is a good kid. He's good at what he does, too. I liked him right away, if not just for the fact that Tim would give Bruce another protégé to dote on.

I passed the torch to him. Tim became Robin, which was fine with me. But I wasn't ready to stop fighting crime yet.

Bruce had taught me too well for me to just turn my back on Gotham.

So I made another suit. I bought my own loft. I built my own gadgets. 

I became Nightwing.

I worked alone.

Bruce and I are still on speaking terms, but I don't think he's ever really forgiven me for leaving.

The clock on my mantelpiece chimes midnight.

Time for my rounds.

I slip into my costume quickly and mount my bike, and in an instant I am flying through the air, the humid evening wind beating against my face.

This is the life.

This is my life.

I stop my bike on the roof of one of the downtown buildings and start scanning the city. I hear a slight thud behind me, and I smile vaguely.

Barb would never get those silent landings right.

"Nice night for a spin," I say aloud.

"Very funny," she snaps coming up beside me, her yellow cape flapping in the wind and her feminine form very obvious in her skin-tight costume. "I know very well that I'm not as quiet as Batman without you rubbing it in. I'm still new at this, if you'll remember."

"Whatever."

"Where are you patrolling?"

"I don't know."

"Fine, then, _don't_ tell me. Batman thinks something may be going down north of the city."

"Then, I'll go south."

I climb onto my bike and gun the engine. Batgirl sighs frustratedly, the wind catching in her red locks.

For a moment I look at her. 

Her posture, the expression on her partially masked face, the confused feeling I sense from her – it reminds me so much of Starfire that I just want to scream.

"What are you waiting for?" I snarl instead. "Go north."

I gun the engine again and drive off the edge of the building, leaving her staring at my back.

I race down a deserted Gotham street, eyes open and alert for anything out of the ordinary, but my mind is far away. I'm a teenager again, sitting on top of the Titan Tower, watching the wind in Starfire's flaming hair.

_I've never forgotten_ _her_, I realize as I drive down the street. _I don't think I ever will._

Above me, a green star flashes against the ebony backdrop of the night.


	2. Chapter One: Before the Storm

**"Firestorm"**

**Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series**

**By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter One:  Before the Storm**

     The night was cold, dark, and moonless.  The sky was blanketed by a thick layer of clouds.  A stiff wind was breaking over the roofs of downtown Gotham City. 

     Nightwing perched on a flagpole protruding from the side of a building, the chilling wind ruffling his thick black hair.

     Nothing.

     There was nothing happening.  All was quiet in Gotham for once.

     _It figures_, he thought to himself. _The one night I really need to blow off some steam, there's no one in sight._

     Grunting angrily, he launched off the pole and climbed on to the roof.  He jumped as he turned around and found himself face-to-chest with a black-clad figure.  

     He was tall and broad, and he wore a black cape and cowl.

     Batman.

     "Don't do that," Nightwing snapped, popping his shoulder joint. "You shouldn't sneak up on people."

     Batman did not answer.

     "But then," Nightwing muttered under his breath, "I guess that's what you do, isn't it?"

     The tall, dark man moved to the ledge of the building on silent feet.  He stared at the street below.

     "Have you seen anything?" his dark, deep voice shook the still night air.

     Nightwing hesitated for a moment before responding, "No.  Nothing.  You?"

     "Not a whisper."

     "Isn't that a good thing?"

     "Something isn't right."

     Nightwing moved to stand beside him, saying, "I know."

     "It's too quiet."

     "The quiet before a storm?"

     "Yes," Batman smiled slightly.

     An explosion suddenly tore into the sky, showering the city in blinding violet light.  Batman and Nightwing moved together without a word, leaping off of the building in unison.  Nightwing landed on his bike and took off at top speed.

     Batman's shadow above him swung from building to building.

     In a matter of moments, Nightwing pulled up next to the burning downtown building.  Flames had already consumed it and were filling the cold night air with choking smoke.  He could already see Batgirl and Robin pulling people to safety.  

     Batman landed beside him, and they ran to help in unspoken agreement.

     Spreading his wings, Nightwing caught a draft of hot hair and soared upward.  His feet hit the solid concrete of a ledge, and he slipped into the burning building.  He locked his arms around the first body he found – a heavyset man.  Lifting with all his strength, he dragged the man out of the window and sailed calmly to the ground.  He sat the man down just as Batgirl landed beside him.

     "Nightwing!" she gasped, her face sooty and red. "There's a woman on the top floor.  None of us can reach—"

     He was gone before she finished, sailing into the choking smoke that continuously billowed out of the burning structure.  The smoke burned his eyes as he ascended higher and higher.  Finally, he burst from the noxious cloud and landed on the roof.

     A scream sounded below him, and he spotted a shadow moving in one of the windows.  He took a deep breath and jumped off the roof, catching another wave of heat with his bright blue wings, and plunging through the window.  Glass shattered around him as he landed on the carpet and rolled.

     "Hello!" he shouted. "Is anyone in here?"

     He heard a wail, and his sharp eyes landed on a figure draped in a bright blanket, doubled over in agony against an easy chair.

     "Hey," he approached the figure, "it's okay." 

     His gloved hands lighted on the figure's shoulders.

     Instantly, every muscle in his body tensed.  The frame under his fingers was not the frame of a helpless old woman.

     It was a man.

     Confused for a moment, he stepped back. 

     He knew it was a mistake the moment his foot hit the carpet. 

     "Too bad," the kneeling figure began to cackle madly.

     Nightwing stepped back again as the blanket came off, revealing dark green hair and a white face plastered with a sadistically foolish grin.

     "Bye-bye, birdie!" the man screamed with laughter and kicked the easy chair.

     Instantaneously, the chair exploded.

     The force propelled him through the wall, knocking the wind out of him.  He lost consciousness as he tumbled helplessly through the smoke and ash, plummeting toward the concrete below—

     The air shook with the sound of the explosion.

     "What was that?" Batgirl gasped, straining to see through the smoke.

     "Something blew up," Robin spat at her as he scrambled up the fire escape on a nearby building.

     "That's obvious, Robin," Batgirl rolled her eyes. "But it sounded like it came from up above.  That's where Nightwing went."

     "Wrong," Robin's voice was shaking as he suddenly began to point. "That's Nightwing!"

     Batgirl gasped as she spotted a black-clad figure plunging through the smoke, cartwheeling toward the ground!

     Nightwing gasped as consciousness rushed upon him in a wave of adrenaline!  He shook his pounding head and tried to spread his wings.

     No good. 

     The blast had ruined them.

     As he fell, he spotted a flagpole approaching.  

     Bracing himself for the pain he knew would come, he grabbed the pole as he fell past it.  He would have sworn both his shoulders popped out of joint as the pole brought him to a vicious halt.  He held on with all his strength as the pole bucked against his weight.

     He cried out suddenly, as he felt his hands burning.  The fire had superheated the pole, and his hands were searing under its heat.  Faced with no other option, he let himself fall.

     He felt himself smash through the roof of a parked car, and in a moment he heard voices calling out to him.  Black-gloved hands reached for him and pulled him out of the wreckage.

     "Nightwing," a dark voice spoke to him. "Nightwing?"

     He could hardly see through the haze of pain.

     "Dick?" that dark voice insisted.

     He opened his eyes and stared into Batman's hidden face.

     "Yeah."

     "Don't move."

     "Yeah."

     "Police are on their way," he heard Robin say. 

     "We need to get him back to the cave," Batman gathered his body close.

     "The old woman—" Nightwing started.

     "—was the Joker," Batman finished. "I nearly caught him as he ran to the roof.  Someone picked him up, though."

     "Great."

     Nightwing let his head fall back and allowed the pain throbbing in his back and his legs to overwhelm him.  Silence fell around him like a heavy blanket, and he slipped into blissful darkness.


	3. Chapter Two: Mastermind

**"Firestorm"**

**Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series**

**By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Two:  Mastermind**

     He awoke to a throbbing ache in his lower back.  With a grunt of discomfort, he took a deep breath.

     "Easy now, Master Dick," soothed a voice with a light British accent. "You had a nasty fall, I hear."

     He opened his eyes and gazed into an old face lined with worry.

     "Alfred," he whispered.

     "Yes, yes, good to see you too, Master Dick," the old butler nodded as he finished bandaging Nightwing's burned hands. "Heaven knows, you don't come around here nearly as often as you might."

     Nightwing sighed and leaned back against the pillow.  He was lying in his old room at Wayne Manor.  He noticed with a small smile that the huge room had changed very little from when he had last lived there.

     _Bruce never did like changing things_, he thought wryly and moved to sit up.

     "Uh-uh-uh," Alfred pushed him back down with strength surprising for a man his age. "You're not moving until I'm sure you don't have a concussion."

     "Did I break anything?"  
     "Just the car you landed on," came a snicker from the door.

     Nightwing turned to look at the doorway where a teenage boy grinned at him. 

     "Real funny, Tim," Nightwing pulled himself up in spite of Alfred's protests and swung his legs onto the floor. "I'm fine, Alfred.  I promise.  I could use some tea, though."

     "You are insufferable, Master Dick," Alfred shook his head, though his dark eyes sparkled. "Tea it is, then."

     He hurried from the room, and Nightwing stood up, wincing at the pain in his ribs.

     "Sure you're okay?" Tim's voice took on a somber tone.

     "Yeah, I'm fine," he sighed. "I didn't hit all that hard, I guess."

     "Tell that to the car," Tim chuckled, moving to sit on the foot of the bed. "Bruce is still down – er – you know.  Studying."

     "How long?"

     "At least since we got home.  I don't think that man ever sleeps."

     "You learn quick, Tim," Nightwing ruffled the boy's black hair and moved slowly out of the room. "Where's Babs?"

     "She doesn't live here, remember?" Tim snorted. "She went home."

     "Right," Nightwing stepped into the hallway and made his way toward the living area of the imposing manor. "This place is still as spooky as it ever was."

     He walked through the living room and into the study area where an old grandfather clock leaned against the wall.  With a slight smile, he flipped the hidden switch on the clock face, and the clock slid to the side, revealing a dimly lit stairway descending into the heart of the earth.  

     Silently, he and Tim walked down the stairs.

     The cave was dark and dank and filled with bats.  The car and the jet sat ready for action at one end of the cave, and the huge computer system rested at the other end.  Bruce sat at the main computer skimming through information.

     Nightwing walked behind him, his footsteps stealthy.

     "How are you feeling?" Bruce's voice echoed in the cave.

     For a moment, Nightwing marveled at how the man's voice could change in tone just by removing his cowl.

     "Fine," he answered shortly. "Have you found anything?"

     "Looks like there were at least a dozen other hits last night," Bruce said, "but not here.  All over the world."

     "What for?" Tim leaned against the computer. 

     "I don't know," Bruce was scowling, his square jaw set in impassively. "They seem random."

     "Maybe they are," Nightwing shrugged. "It _is _the Joker, after all."

     "True," Bruce nodded, "but something's bothering me about all of this."

     "What do you mean, Bruce?" Tim asked,

     "Where was the gimmick?" Bruce leaned back in his chair, steepling his fingers. "Where was the gag?  The opportunity for a laugh?  It wasn't there."

     "I see your point," Nightwing nodded, glaring at the screen which was now displaying data about the downtown building that had burned. "You think he's working with someone else?"

     "Possibly.  I'm not really sure."

     "Well, the only way the Joker would go to all the trouble of blowing up a building would be to either torment us or get himself a laugh.  I'll tell you right now, Bruce.  He wasn't really laughing last night."

     "Think he was trying to prove himself or something?" Tim asked.

     "What makes you say that, Tim?" Bruce looked at him.

     "Well," Tim crossed his arms, "he obviously wanted Nightwing to come to the top floor because he knew it would take a lot of trouble for any of the rest of us to get up there.  But you said there weren't any gags or tricks, right, Dick?  Just that he was covered in an old blanket?"

     "Yeah," Nightwing nodded. "I thought he was an old woman or something.  He used an old easy chair to mask some sort of detonator.  That's what the explosion was."

     "But no flowers that squirt poison gas?  Or razor sharp false teeth?  Or toy guns?"

     "No."

     "And that's what's weird," Tim shook his head. "It seems to me like he was trying to prove he could actually fight seriously."

     "But why would he do that?" Nightwing sighed hugely. "Who does the Joker have to prove himself to?  The whole world knows he's crazy, and he's renowned as one of the greatest criminal masterminds of all time.  Who would he possibly respect or fear enough to throw away his gags for?  There's no criminal like that in Gotham."

     "Agreed," Bruce stood, pushing his chair back. "If you're right, Tim, it means he's working with or for a criminal who's more powerful than he is."

     The doorbell rang suddenly, reverberating through the empty halls of the Manor. 

     "That would be Barb," Bruce turned toward the stairs. 

     The three of them trekked up the stairs together.

     "Need a hand?" Bruce asked Nightwing as he hesitated on the stairs.

     "I told you, I'm fine," Nightwing brushed past him.

     Nightwing stepped into the antechamber as Alfred was greeting Barb.

     Her red hair was pulled high in a ponytail, and her big blue eyes were bright.

     "I see you've recovered," she smiled at him. 

     "For the most part."

     Tim bounced into the room, and Barb caught him in a friendly hug.  The study door opened, and Bruce strode in, his face solemn.

     "Did you guys figure it out?" Barb asked.

     "Maybe," Tim spoke as he squirmed out of her embrace.

     "Tim, you and Dick fill her in on what we know," Bruce said. "Then, all of you get some rest.  It'll be a long night tonight."

     "Yes, Master Dick," Alfred came up behind Nightwing. "Your tea is beside your bed, which is where I must insist you return.  Your injuries require—"

     "I'm fine!" Nightwing threw his hands over his head and stalked toward the door. "Tim, you brief Babs.  I'm going back to my loft."

     "But, Master Dick—!" Alfred started to protest but stopped as Bruce raised his hand.

     "Let him go, Alfred," Bruce said. "He can take care of himself."

     "Yes, Master Bruce," Alfred sighed resignedly as he moved toward the kitchen. "Master Tim, would you care for a hot cup of tea?"

     The wind was cold again, but the moon was out.  For once, very few clouds inhabited the skies over Gotham, but the night was dark enough without them.

     Nightwing perched on his favorite flagpole again, scanning the shadows for any sign of the Joker or his henchmen.  

     Robin landed on the window ledge beside him with a thud, and Nightwing glared at the teenager.

     "Do we know that he's even going to show up tonight?" Robin asked, the wind blowing his black cape. "I mean, there were attacks all over the world last night.  Maybe he'll level a building in—I don't know—Timbuktu or something."

     Nightwing hushed him severely.  

     "Do you hear that?' he asked.

     "Hear what?" Robin leaned forward.

     The two vigilantes strained their ears listening for anything out of the ordinary.

     "I hear it," Robin whispered. "It sounds like a generator of some kind, but where's it coming from?"

     Nightwing's left eye twitched as he strained his ears.

     "It sounds close," he mumbled, "but it's too faint to make out."

     Suddenly, it stopped.  Both of them waited quietly.

     "Where'd it go?" Robin finally asked.

     And the building erupted in flames.  The force of the explosion blasted Robin and Nightwing into the air.  They crashed through the windows of a nearby building and scrambled to their feet in time to see the other building collapse in a fiery cloud of ash and smoke.

     Maniacal laughter echoed above them, and they gazed upward.  The Joker perched on the skids of a helicopter waving at them like an idiot.

     "What is he up to?" Nightwing spat, spreading his wings and soaring into the clouds on a gust of wind.

     The Joker motioned to the pilot, and the helicopter flew away.  Nightwing threw a hook around one of the skids and held on as the vessel blasted through the sky.

     Robin fired his grappling hook and swung to the neighboring building.  In a few moments, Batman and Batgirl arrived.

     "What happened?" Batgirl asked.

     "The Joker again," Robin said. "He blew up the building and took off in a helicopter.  Nightwing is—"

     The building on which they stood suddenly shuddered.

     "Move," Batman ordered, leaping off the side of the building.  

     Batgirl and Robin obeyed as the building erupted in a blaze of blinding violet light.  Batman gathered both his partners under his heavy cape as the shockwave hit them.

     Hand-over-hand, he climbed up the rope until his fingers were in reach of the helicopter skids.  A white shoe suddenly crushed his gloved hands to the skid!  The Joker half-leaned out of the passenger compartment and smirked evilly at him.

     "Well, if it isn't Nightwing?" he drawled, his dark green hair flapping around his white face. "Big Daddy Bat lets you fly on your own now, eh?" 

     Nightwing tried to pull his hand away, but the Joker crushed it harder.

     "Tsk, tsk, tsk," the Joker ground his foot into Nightwing's hand. "The four of you are going to really have to work to get your hineys out of this one."  
     "What are you up to, Joker?"

     "Oh, now, if I gave the game away, we wouldn't have any fun," the Joker pouted. "Besides, you should be able to figure it out yourself."

     Laughing, the Joker kicked Nightwing hard in the face.  His hands still sore from the burns, he could not hold onto the rope or the skid!  He managed to stop his fall, though, as he spread his blue wings.

     He sailed on an updraft for a moment, growling to himself as the helicopter flew to the east.

     He turned himself in the air and headed toward the demolished building just as the sky filled with violent purple light.

     Clenching his aching fists, he flew toward the light.

     The building had vanished.

     There was nothing left.

     No rubble.  No debris.

     Nothing.

     Except a woman levitating where the building once stood.

     Batgirl and Robin climbed out from under Batman's cape and gawked at the woman.

     She was tall and slender, and her hair was long and black.  It fluttered around her frame like an ebony cape.  She wore a suit sculpted of silver and violet metal, and her eyes glowed with purple light.

     A sadistic smirk was set on her beautiful face.

     "What's the plan, Batman?" Batgirl asked, tensing.

     Before he could answer, the woman disappeared.

     Three orbs of violet light burst out of nowhere and knocked the three vigilantes off their feet.  Batgirl crashed through a storefront window, glass cascading around her.  Two more blasts of light knocked Batman to the ground, and he barely managed to roll out of the way before another blast left a crater in the sidewalk.

     Robin flung two explosive charges at the woman, but she moved around them easily and dealt the boy a fierce blow.  He smacked the cement hard and rolled.  She plunged for him, but he rolled out of the way as she crashed into the street, the force of the blow sending a shockwave through the street.  Robin jumped up and kicked at her, but she snatched his ankle out of the air and flew into the sky, dragging him with her.  Viciously, she flung him toward the ground!

     And Nightwing caught him.

     Nightwing set Robin on the street and ducked under a ferocious punch from the woman, but he could not get under her kick.  The blow landed on the left side of his face, driving him into a brick wall.  Peeling himself off the bricks, he lunged at her, but she flew out of his range.

     She waved at them, blew a kiss at Robin, and soared into the sky.

     "Man," Robin moaned, limping to stand by Nightwing's side, "who _was _that?"

     "Want to bet it's the Joker's new partner?" Nightwing snarled.

     "Yeah.  But who was it?  She could fly.  I mean, you can fly too, but not like that.  It's was like—like she wasn't even human."

     Nightwing glanced toward the shattered storefront window where Batman was helping Batgirl to her feet.  The moonlight shone off Batgirl's fiery red hair.

     "Like she wasn't even human," Nightwing murmured. 

     He glanced toward the sky, his eyes narrowing. 


	4. Chapter Three: Ghost from the Past

**Firestorm**

**Batman/Teen Titans**

**By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Three: Ghost from the Past**

     The door creaked noisily as Nightwing stepped into his loft.  He slammed the door with a dark scowl and moved slowly to the couch.  Spreading himself out on it, he laid his head on the armrest and sighed hugely.

     "Not even human," he muttered to himself, his eyes drifting shut as the morning sun peeked around the edges of his blinds.

     Sleep claimed him quickly, but his mind kept churning, musing over images and faces long sequestered to the depth of his consciousness.  

     The wind was cold and chilled him to the bone.  His breath spilled from his lips like a cloud.  She stood beside him, her fiery hair caught in the frigid wind.

     Surely she was cold.  He was freezing, and he was fully clothed.  She wore only her uniform, the two piece purple suit that clung to her feminine frame like a glove.

     "Robin?" she asked, her voice clear and sweet and soft.

     "Yeah, Star?" 

     "I wish to ask a question."

     "What is it, Star?"

     "This—circus.  What is it?"

     "Star, now really isn't the time."

     "Yes.  But I am curious." Her big green eyes were pleading.

     He could never refuse her.

     "It's a bunch of people who get together and perform for an audience."

     "There are animals, yes?"

     "Yes, Star."

     "And the strange painted creatures called clowns?"

     "Yes, Star."

     "And people who fly without wings?"

     He hesitated before answering, "Yes, Star."

     "Is it very beautiful?  The dance they do in the air?"

     He only nodded.

     "I would like to go to this circus.  Would you accompany me?"

     "No, Star."

     "After we apprehend this doer of evil?  Would you accompany me then?"  
     "No, Star.  I'm not going to the circus."

     "But, Robin, why?  It sounds like a joyous place."

     "I've lost my taste for it."

     "I do not understand, Robin.  How could you not—"

     "I just don't, Star!  Leave it at that and pay attention."

     He turned his eyes back to the street to watch for any sign of Cinderblock.  He tried desperately to ignore the shocked expression on Starfire's innocent face and the hurt tears welling in her luminous green eyes.

     Nightwing woke with a start and sat up quickly, gazing around his darkened loft.  From the angle of the sunlight spilling through the edges of the blinds, he judged that it was mid-afternoon.    

     "Was that a dream?" he mumbled, swinging his legs over the edge of the couch and popping his neck. "No.  No, I remember that."

     With a scowl, he stood and walked to the bookshelf at the far end of the loft.  After scaling a ladder, he pulled a large volume off the very top shelf.  The book was dusty and old, stained with age and disuse.  The front cover was emblazoned with a large letter _T_.

     Nightwing, still frowning, slid down the ladder and flung the book on his table.  Quickly, he opened it and began thumbing through the pages.  The book was full of a multitude of newspaper articles and pictures, images of five teenagers in strange costumes.   

     Nightwing recognized himself first, years younger, still wearing the obnoxiously bright Robin suit, his hair wild and unruly.  Even his mask looked immature, he thought.  He did eye the steel-toed boots in the photograph, though.

     _Man_, he thought to himself_, I miss those boots_.

     The tallest of the group was a brawny young African American.  Cyborg.  He was part human and part machine, his arms and legs composed of cybernetic systems and computers.  His torso was metallic, and half his face shone with blue lights and wires. 

     With a chuckle, his eyes moved to the shortest of the boys, a little green figure in purple and black tights.  Beast Boy.  What else needed to be said?  Pointed ears, expressive eyes, and a strict vegetarian, the skinny teenager was the goof-off of the group.

     Raven, unfriendly and sour, stood at the back of the photograph, her face covered by her blue hood.  Only her eyes showed, glowering from within the depths of the shadows in which she existed.  

     Nightwing allowed himself a faint smile as his eyes lighted on the tall, slender figure standing next to his former self in the photograph.  She was tall—taller than he was—and the wind caught in her silken red hair.  Her eyes even seemed to glow in the photograph—a lifeless representation of who she was.

     She was beautiful.

     Why had he never told her?  Why had he not insisted that she stay on Earth with him instead of going home to Tamaran, that strange world beyond the clouds?  

     "Stop it," he suddenly sat up and slammed the book closed. "It doesn't matter.  She's gone.  They're all gone.  I'm alone, like I've always been."  He picked the book up and shoved it back into the cabinet. "What am I doing, anyway?"

     He scrambled back down the ladder and scowled at a piece of paper on the ground.

     "Must've fallen out."

     He bent down to grab it and glanced at it casually.

     As he had assumed, it was another photograph of the Teen Titans, all waving at the camera like idiots.  But—

     "Where's Star?" he murmured suddenly, scanning the image for her bright hair and not finding it.

     But her face—

     "Wait."

     He looked closer at the image.

     A tall, slender young woman stood in the image, her arms draped over Beast Boy and Cyborg's shoulders.  Her face was beautiful—as beautiful as Starfire—but her hair—

     Her hair was black.

     He had forgotten.

     He had completely forgotten.

_     He stood in shock as Starfire flew into the heavens, her eyes flashing green in fury, and he gawked as the two Tamaranians began to fight.  The first blow sent Starfire tumbling head over heels, but she regained her balance and flew toward her opponent again.  _

_     Violet and green bursts of light streamed from the two combatants, illuminating the clouded sky like a fireworks display._

_     Finally, Starfire threw a starbolt that impacted with her opponent's hand, negating the violet light that glowed there.  But before Starfire could deliver another blow, the slender black-haired woman screamed, a green tentacle snatching her out of the sky._

_     The Centauri police._

_     He listed in awe as Starfire said how good it was to see her big sister again._

_     "I will get out of jail, little sister," the black-haired girl shouted as the police arrested her, "and I will get even!"_

     Nightwing stared at the photograph, his mouth dry and his eyes unblinking.

     "It couldn't be," he muttered. "It's just impossible.  She would never have—I mean, she never could have—" 

     He threw the photograph down.

     "The Joker?  There's no way she'd work with him.  She couldn't stand him!"

     He glared at the photograph, his mind shifting back to the previous night—

_     Three orbs of violet light burst out of nowhere and knocked the three vigilantes off their feet.  Batgirl crashed through a storefront window, glass cascading around her.  Two more blasts of light knocked Batman to the ground, and he barely managed to roll out of the way before another blast left a crater in the sidewalk._

     "Was it her?" he whispered, remembering how the slender woman had levitated out of the wreckage of the destroyed building. "Is it possible?"

_     Robin flung two explosive charges at the woman, but she moved around them easily and dealt the boy a fierce blow.  He smacked the cement hard and rolled.  She plunged for him, but he rolled out of the way as she crashed into the street, the force of the blow sending a shockwave through the street—_

     "Who else could it be?" Nightwing sat down in a chair. "Who else?  There's no one else.  But why?  Why is she here?  Why did she come back?  And why is she working with the Joker?  It doesn't make any sense."

     He jumped as the radio in the corner suddenly flared to life.

     "Nightwing," he heard Barb's voice in between bursts of static, "get downtown quick.  She's back."

     His eyes lifted, hard and cold.

     "Blackfire," he hissed.


	5. Chapter Four: Arrival

**Firestorm**

**Batman/Teen Titans**

**By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Four: Arrival**

     He landed roughly on the roof of the building, sharp eyes watching every move their attacker made.  The woman was tall and slender, quite beautiful, actually.  Her hair was long and black, and her eyes flashed purple.

     Batman watched as she blasted Batgirl off her feet.  He moved quickly and caught her as she fell, righting her as soon as she was safe in his arms.

     "This is ridiculous," Batgirl murmured, watching Robin attack the strange woman only to be thrown backward viciously. "How can we beat her if we can't even get close enough to hit her?"

     Batman did not answer but straightened and glared at the woman.

     "So," she suddenly began to speak, "you are the Batman."

     Batgirl and Robin exchanged a glance across the roof.

     "I've so wanted to meet you," the woman continued in a beguiling voice, the glowing purple light dimming to reveal startling black eyes, "but now that I see you, I must admit, I'm not impressed."

     "Who are you?" Batgirl shouted.

     Robin scrambled to his feet, the wind catching in his cape, demanding, "Why are you working with the Joker?"

     "You'll figure it out soon enough," she glowered at him, her eyes beginning to flash again.

     With a shout, a host of armed men flooded onto the roof and charged.  Maniacal laughter echoed around the rooftops.

     "Finally," Robin muttered under his breath. "Something I can actually hit."

     As the Joker's henchmen surrounded and attacked, the strange woman floated in the air and moved toward the sidelines, watching the fight.  She scowled darkly as a lithe figure scrambled up the fire escape and perched on the ledge next to her.

     "Not too shabby, eh?" he asked, the wind blowing in his gelled green hair.

     "I am not at all impressed with anything I have yet seen," she responded.

     "Oh, you're no fun at all," the Joker pouted.

     He frowned as he watched the woman's eyes following Robin's movements.

     "You know," the Joker began folding his hands across his chest, "that's not the same one you knew, right?  I'd hoped you were smarter than that."

     He grunted as the woman backhanded him, and he nearly toppled off the ledge.

     "Don't get smart with me," she ordered.

     He glared at her, infuriated, but he said nothing.

     Batgirl punched one of the men in the face, and he fell backward, landing on top of two other men.  Batman kicked two into the side of the ledge, and Robin tied one up with a piece of wire that lay discarded on the roof.

     The woman watched with a smile.

     "Singularly," she muttered, "they are not impressive, but together—together.  They move as one."

     "Yes, moving as one.  That's all very important, isn't it," the Joker added.

     She scowled darkly at him.

     "What?"

     A revving engine surged through the air, and a black motorcycle screeched to a halt on top of a nearby building.  The woman watched as a figure in black leaped off the roof and sailed through the air, landing neatly on top of two of the Joker's henchmen, crushing them to the rooftop.

     "Geez, it's about time!" Robin barked as he knocked another man out.

     The newcomer did not speak but set to clearing the roof of the henchmen. 

     "All right then," the woman chuckled, popping her knuckles. "So, the game begins.  You," she turned to the Joker, "get out of here.  I'll see you back at the club."

     The Joker executed a clumsy salute and slid down the fire escape. 

     Nightwing landed a ferocious punch alongside the head of one of the men, and he kicked another one in the stomach.

     "Nightwing!" he heard Batgirl shout. "The Joker!  He's getting away!"

     Nightwing did not respond but kept knocking henchmen out.  Out of the corner of his eye, he saw at least fifteen of them swarming around Batman.

      _Bruce isn't going anywhere fast_, he thought as he knocked the henchmen he had just punched down again.

     A flash of purple and black alerted his senses.

     He turned.

     _Blackfire_.

     She was floating in the air just in sight, a sinister smile twisting her beautiful face.

     Nightwing moved to charge at her, but another henchman lunged at him.  He tripped and sprawled to the rooftop.  He looked up and gaped as Blackfire's gaze settled on Robin.

     _Tim!_ Nightwing's heart leaped into his throat.

     Nightwing struggled to get to his feet, but the henchmen had taken the opportunity to pile on top of him.  He watched helplessly as Blackfire surged forward and snatched Robin off his feet.

     "Hey!" Robin barked kicking at her. "Let me down!"

     "As you wish," Blackfire responded.

     And flung him over the ledge.

     "Robin!" Batgirl shrieked.

     Batman threw the remaining henchmen off of him, but Blackfire leveled another blast in his direction, blowing him off his feet.  Nightwing scrambled out from under the pile of men and bolted for the edge of the building.

     _I can't reach him.  There's no way I can get to him!!_

     But he jumped off anyway, spreading his bright blue wings and plummeting toward the ground.

     He could see Robin tumbling toward the concrete.

     Having used all his utilities during the fight, Robin had nothing with which to stop his fall.

     He was going to hit—

     Nightwing tensed in an effort to fall faster, but a sudden burst of wind slammed brutally into him, throwing him off course!  He flailed in the air, trying to find the right current on which to ride.  He tumbled head over heels through the air until his wings finally latched on to a strong enough gust to carry him to the ground.  He landed crooked, still, but he whirled around, desperately looking for Robin's body.

     _Where is he?_

     He looked up and down the street.  He was no where in sight.  There was no sign of impact either.

     He took a deep breath and looked up.

     "Robin!" Batgirl shouted again and ran to the ledge.

     Another blast of purple light slammed into her back, sending her over the edge.  She grabbed onto the ledge and tried to scramble over it.

     Batman ran at the woman, throwing a punch that could have broken her jaw if it had connected.  She maneuvered around it and kicked him in his lower back, driving him into the ledge.  He stood and helped Batgirl over the ledge, and they faced the woman together.

     "Ridiculous!" the woman cackled. "No _wonder_ no one takes Earth seriously anymore!"

     She pointed at them, a sparkling orb of purple light forming in her hand.

     "I was hoping the four of you would present more of a challenge," the woman pouted. "Oh, well."

     She released the bolt of purple light, but the orb suddenly exploded in a burst of green.  The force of the explosion nearly knocked Batgirl over the ledge, but Batman stopped her from falling.

     Slowly, the triumphant expression on the woman's face melted into a look of total shock.

     "How?" she whispered. "It's not possible!"

     She shrieked and jumped off the side of the building.  Batman and Batgirl watched in confusion as she flew away.

     "Robin," Batgirl turned to the ledge and quickly scanned the street below. "Batman.  Batman, I don't see him."

     He did not answer.  Batgirl turned to him but stopped and followed his gaze.

     Across the roof, another woman had suddenly appeared.  She was also tall and slender, bearing a startling resemblance to the black-haired woman.  Her hair was long and bright red, and her eyes were luminous green.  Tucked neatly under her arm, was Robin.  Presently, he was shaking his head disorientedly. 

     "Whoa," he muttered. "What happened?"

     Batman and Batgirl watched in stunned silence as she woman pulled Robin into a crushing embrace, squealing, "Robin!  I am most overjoyed to stand in your presence once again!"

     "Hey, lemme go!" Robin yelped.

     "I must admit to thinking you would be slightly taller, though," the woman held him by his shoulders at arm's length. "In fact, it seems you may have shrunk a slight bit."

     "What are you talking about?" Robin shouted. "Who are you?"

     "Robin!" the woman gasped, tears suddenly filling her bright green eyes. "Do you not know me?  It is I.  Starfire."    


	6. Chapter Five: Reunion

A/N: Everything I know about TT comes from the cartoon series. I know nothing about Starfire's/Blackfire's "real" names/histories, their parents' names/histories, or anything else. So those of you who know all that wonderful stuff, bear with me.

**Firestorm  
****Batman/Teen Titans  
****By Amos Whirly  
****Chapter Five: ****Reunion******

"Huh?" Robin's young face was blank as he gaped at the beautiful face of the woman who held him suspended from the ground.

"Starfire," the woman repeated, tears appearing in her green eyes. "So many years have passed, but I thought certainly that my memory would not have left your mind, Robin!"

_Starfire_, Nightwing thought as he stared. _She's here. She's really here._

"Excuse me," Batgirl suddenly interrupted his train of thought and stepped quickly to Starfire's side, "but would you put him down now?"

Starfire's expression seemed perturbed and set Robin down on the rooftop.

"I offer my most sincere apologies," she bowed. "I was unaware that my actions were out of procession. It has merely been so long since I have seen Robin."

"I don't even know you," Robin scratched his head.

"No, you don't," Nightwing suddenly spoke and crossed his arms.

Starfire turned her gaze to him. He felt his heart skip a beat as her eyes bored into him, but he gave no indication of any emotion at all. His mouth felt suddenly dry. Was that _fear _in her eyes? Uncertainty, perhaps. Definitely confusion. But _fear_?

From the corner of his eye, Nightwing saw Batman lower his arms, his cape surrounding his muscular body in a shroud of black.

He knew.

Nightwing approached her confidently, feeling something tremble inside him when she took a step backward. She _was _afraid of him.

"He doesn't know you," he said to her, "and you don't know him."

"You are wrong, sir," she said, lifting her chin. "He is Robin, my best friend. We worked together many years ago to save his world from evil forces that would have liked to rule it. I require his help now to stop my sister who has escaped custody of the Centauri police."

"He doesn't know you," Nightwing insisted.

Starfire glanced at Robin, who was still gaping at her.

"But I do."

Starfire gasped and turned her gaze back to him, her eyes searching for something familiar.

"R—Robin?"

"It's Nightwing, now, Star."

Her face fell visibly, and her bright eyes were confused.

"Robin," she whispered, "what has happened to you?"

He kept his voice level. "I grew up, Star."

* * *

"Marvelous!" Starfire exclaimed as she sipped the cup of tea that Alfred had handed her. "The tea Earl Gray is most remarkable!"

"I'm pleased you like it," the old butler smiled and handed her another plate of crumpets.

She was curled up on a chair at the center of the Batcave. Batman was typing on his computer, searching down leads to where the Joker and his newest ally might be hiding. Robin was sitting backwards in another chair watching Starfire gobble down crumpets by the dozen, and Batgirl was standing some distance off, observing the whole scene in silence.

Nightwing had disappeared.

Batgirl glanced at Batman, buried in his work. He seemed to be avoiding conversation with the alien girl.

_Does he know her? _Batgirl wondered to herself as Starfire downed another cup of tea. _I know Dick does, but does Bruce?_

Batgirl crossed her arms and approached quietly, finding another chair and sitting down a few feet away from the newcomer.

Starfire drank her fifth cup of tea, and finished off the last crumpet. Alfred gathered the plate and her cups with a smile.

"My goodness," he said pleasantly, "you've a healthier appetite than Master Tim."

"I traveled a great distance," she explained with a blush. "Most of my energy I spent in speed, and I did not take the time to nourish myself with edibles."

"Where did you come from?" Batgirl finally spoke aloud.

"From Tamaran," Starfire leaned back in the chair, her face clouding like the sun behind a storm. "My homeworld."

"So, you're really an alien?" Robin smirked. "Cool."

"Yes," Starfire smiled. "When I first arrived on Earth, I felt terribly out of place. Like I did not belong. Robin—er—Nightwing, I guess it is now, made me feel welcome. He made me feel as if I had a purpose. That was when we were the Teen Titans. When we were fighting Slade. I have never forgotten the lessons I learned during that most dangerous time."

"Why did you leave?" Batgirl asked softly.

Starfire glanced up at her and sighed.

"I am a princess," she shrugged finally. "I had a duty to my homeworld. I had to return. You see, I had left the progression of rule in the hands of my elder sister. Blackfire. I trusted that she would take the reigns of the government if something were to happen to my beloved parents."

"But she didn't?" Robin asked.

"Blackfire came to Earth just shortly after I arrived. She had stolen a Centauri diamond and was planning to allow me to be arrested in her place. We do resemble each other."

"Quite a bit," Batgirl agreed. "What happened?"

"Thanks to the other Titans, we were able to convince the Centauri police who had come to arrest me that I was not the true villain. I subdued my sister, and she was arrested instead as it should have been to begin with."

"Bet that really hacked her off," Robin leaned forward.

"She was quite angry. She vowed she would exact revenge as the police took her away. To be very honest, it was not a threat I much considered. Centauri police are renown throughout the universe as the finest jailers in the quadrant. It is no easy feat to escape their custody."

"But somehow she did?" Batgirl asked.

"Yes," Starfire lowered her gaze in shame, "but she is no longer wanted merely for theft. Apparently, during her escape she killed four Centauri police."

Batgirl closed her eyes.

"And now she's hooked up with the Joker," Robin put in. "Maybe she's crazy."

"That is highly unlikely," Starfire shook her head. "If my sister was absent from her mind, you would know it."

"You have a funny way of phrasing things, don't you?" Robin cocked an eyebrow.

Starfire did not respond and only stared at the floor.

"By the way," Batgirl on impulse stood and offered her hand, "I'm Barbara."

Starfire looked up at her.

"I thought you were the girl-bat," her eyes were confused.

"That's who I am while I'm in costume," Batgirl explained, pulling her cowl off and revealing her face. "In real life, so to speak, my name is Barbara Gordon."

Starfire shook her hand, still seeming confused.

"I have heard of this—real life—this issue of having real names and alternate names and secret identities. I find it all very confusing. On my planet, everyone knows me for who I am."

"I bet it's not unusual on your planet to see people who fly and shoot laser beams from their eyes, huh?" Robin snickered.

"All Tamaranians can do that."

"My point."

"And as the Titans," Starfire continued, "the city knew who we were and what we could do. We had no secret identities with them."

"But did you ever know Robin's real name?" Barb asked.

"His name was Robin."

"How can that be when I'm Robin now?" Robin laughed.

"Robin was not his real name?" Starfire looked shocked.

"No," Barb shook her head. "His real name is Dick Grayson. He was Robin for a long time, and then he changed to Nightwing."

"Why?" Starfire asked. "Why did he change?"

"He got grumpy," Robin griped.

"Tim," Barb glared at him.

"He did," Robin insisted.

"I do not understand," Starfire looked sad. "He was an excellent warrior as Robin. He stood for right and good. His brightness made all evil flee. Now—now he wears black. He no longer smiles. He is different. And I do not understand why."

"Dick felt the need to move on," Batman's deep voice suddenly rang out in the cave.

Starfire turned to him. He was still sitting at his computer, not looking at any of them.

"But why?" Starfire stood. "What did he need to move on from?"

"Some things are best left behind," Batman responded, still not looking at her.

Starfire's expression turned hard and she hurried up the stairs and out of the cave. Barb watched her go.

_I wonder_, she thought. _I wonder what Dick was like when she knew him._

"Dick must have been a good friend to her or something," Robin suddenly said aloud, causing Barb to look at him.

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"All I know is that I wouldn't get upset over him now, knowing him like I do," Robin shrugged moving toward the changing area. "He's too grumpy for me to like him that much."

Barb watched the teenager walk away, and she turned her gaze to Batman. He had returned to typing. She sighed heavily and went to change into her street clothes.

* * *

He sat still and let the wind blow in his hair. How had life gotten so complicated? He sat on a balcony rail on one of the towers of Wayne Manor. The significant breeze caught in his black shirt and chilled him in spite of the heavy dark pants he wore.

He opened his eyes slowly. He felt her long before he saw her.

"What is it, Star?" he asked aloud.

She was standing in the doorway behind him, the wind catching in her fiery hair.

"Why are some things best left behind?" she asked. "And what do you feel you must move on from?"

He turned to look at her. Her face was screwed up in what was probably supposed to be an expression of demand. Her pursed lips and wrinkled forehead only made her look ridiculous.

And even more adorable.

Nightwing rolled his eyes and turned back to the horizon.

"I grew up, Star."

"You said that already. What does that mean? "

"It means I'm not some stupid kid anymore."

"Kids are not stupid," Starfire sat down next to him. "We were not stupid. Do you not remember? We were heroes. Why do you wish to forget our adventures? Why do you wish to leave them behind?"

"I'm not that person anymore, Star."

"Why? I liked that person. That person was my friend."

He looked at her hard. "I can be your friend too."

"I did not come here looking for Nightwing. I came here looking for Robin, for the friend I—" She stopped. "The friend _I_ left behind." Slowly, she pulled her legs up to her chest and perched on the balcony rail. "I left you behind. Now you feel you must leave me behind?"

"That's not it."

"It is not?"

"Life changes people, Star. You don't know what it's like here, living in his shadow."

"He seems to care for you."

"I couldn't be his little Robin forever, just like I couldn't stay Dick Grayson forever."

"And this Nightwing person," her eyes bored into him. "Can you stay him forever?"

He did not answer.

They sat in silence for a long time before she spoke again. "I came to find you because I needed your help."

"I'm not Robin anymore, Star. That's Tim's job now."

"You say you are not the same person," Starfire whispered, suddenly reaching out to tame a wild lock of black hair from his head, "but you are wrong. You are older, yes. You are darker, yes. And as the new Robin says, you seem to be quite grumpy most of the time."

"Thanks."

"But you are still the person I knew, I think," she pulled her hand back and gazed at him. "You are still the same person I depended on. Now, I must depend on you again. I cannot stop Blackfire on my own. She is dangerous now. More dangerous than ever before."

"What makes you think I can stop her?"

"You cannot," Starfire shook her head. "I cannot. Together, we might have a chance. But, even then, I think we will need more assistance."

"Batman, Batgirl, and Robin—"

"No. They are human."

"Batman works with aliens on the side."

"That is not the same."

Her eyes were shining. He could read her intentions clearly.

"You want to find the Titans."

"You all stood beside me the last time Blackfire appeared," Starfire said. "I believe that together we can stop her again."

"Then, why don't you go find them?"

"I do not know this world, Ro—er—Nightwing. You do. For me to leave on my own would be disastrous, and you know it."

He turned back to the clouded sky and sighed.

"You know it's crazy," he said. "We'll never find them. They scattered to the wind."

"Then, it is a good thing I can fly."

"Why is that?"

"If they are trapped in the wind, I can chase them with ease," she was in earnest.

He glanced at her. Her expression was joyful. Nightwing shook his head, a smile slowly creeping up the side of his mouth.

"You haven't changed a bit, Star."


	7. Chapter Six: Where the Lions Roar

**

* * *

Firestorm**

**Batman/Teen Titans**

**By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Six: Where the Lions Roar**

A shrieking bat fluttered wildly through the darkness. Starfire stood alone on a ledge at the back of the cave, watching the eerie shadows move as if of their own volition. She turned her head when she heard someone approaching, and she gave a start as a small redheaded woman stopped beside her.

"The girl-bat, I presume?" Starfire offered a smile.

"Barb, when I'm like this, remember?"

"Forgive me," Starfire bowed her head. "Barbara."

"What are you doing over here all by yourself?"

"I am contemplating why this Batman seems to inhabit dark places."

Barbara smiled, closing her eyes. "It's a guy thing."

"I always knew," Starfire sighed, "that Robin—I mean—Nightwing—had a dark place deep within his heart. In spite of his bright costume and the happy exterior he had, it was always there – lurking in the depths of his soul. I had always hoped, though, that our time together extinguished that darkness. Now I see that in my absence it only grew stronger."

"What makes you think it ever went away?"

Starfire's emerald eyes brightened. "You did not see him smile then. When we were together, it seemed to me that he could smile more brilliantly than any child. His laugh was light, as if his heart were at ease." She looked down. "I do not know this Nightwing."

Barbara set her hand on Starfire's shoulder and squeezed it tightly. "Maybe you'll make him remember." Barbara sighed. "You have to know, though, Starfire, that Dick—Nightwing has been through some situations that you probably don't know about."

"He rarely spoke of the past while we were with the Titans."

"Then you don't know how that darkness inside him came to be."

Starfire shook her head.

"If you want to reach him the way you want," Barbara shook her head, "you're going to have to look deep into his heart, and you're going to have to take that darkness away. And when you do that – frankly, he's not going to be the same person you know."

"I do not understand."

Barbara pulled away from Starfire and crossed her arms. "Starfire, what made you want to do this?"

"Do what?"

"Be a hero?"

Starfire tilted her head and thought for a moment. "I am a princess on my world. I desired to learn more about the universe around me, and I came to earth. I found that I could use my abilities to do good and to help other people. Robin found me, and we formed the Titans."

"That's it?"

"Yes. Is there something I am missing?"

"Maybe it's different on your world, Starfire, but here people don't just sacrifice their lives and their happiness to be heroes. Here there has to be a reason. You have to have a reason for doing this."

"I have a reason," Starfire argued. "I wish to help people."

"Because you have supernatural abilities," Barb smiled. "You sound like Superman."

"Who?"

"It's not important. What you have to realize about me – about Dick – about Batman – and yeah, even Tim – none of us have super powers. None of us can fly or shoot energy beams from our eyes. We're just normal people."

"I know that."

"And for a normal person to do this kind of work," Barbara's voice was serious, "takes a defining moment in his or her past. Something bad. Something dark. And after a while, that darkness begins to define you. It controls what you say, what you do, who you chase, and who you let go. It manipulates your actions."

"How awful."

"Not necessarily," Barbara shrugged. "Eventually it becomes your security blanket."

"How so?"

"It gives you strength," Barbara looked off into the shadows, "keeps you going when you feel like giving up. Remembering what happened to you – to the ones you love." She stopped for a moment. "In that moment, where the darkness in your heart uses you as a tool of justice, the darkness doesn't seem so dark anymore."

Both women stiffened suddenly and turned around.

Batman stood behind them, half cloaked in the shadows.

"I found him." His voice was stern.

* * *

The strange group of people gathered around the large computer screen in the dank, dark cave. Alfred bustled around dusting pieces of machinery and filling Starfire's tea cup when requested. The screen flashed all sorts of information, and the confused expression on Starfire's face was not hard to decipher.

"Bruce," Nightwing wrinkled his nose, "are you telling me that Beast Boy is in Benin?"

"Yes."

"How did he end up there?"  
"From what I can tell," Batman answered shortly, "he's working on a national wildlife preserve on the savannahs. There isn't much information – just a short piece on a unique gamekeeper who has a special bond with the animals of Africa."

"Anyone could have a special bond with the animals, Bruce," Tim pointed out. "What makes you think this is the guy that Dick is looking for?"

"According to the article," Batman responded with a strange smile at the corner of his mouth, "this particular gamekeeper is green."

"Figuratively or literally?" Barbara furrowed her brow.

Batman glanced up at Nightwing.

"I'm on my way," Nightwing turned and started for the stairs.

"Wait," Starfire ran after him, "I shall accompany you."

"I don't need help, Star," he walked up the stairs.

She scowled and lifted off the ground chasing him up the stairs and halting in front of him, still flying.

"This was my request," she pursed her lips. "I shall not stand idly by, and you cannot force me."

Nightwing stood still for a moment before nodding and brushing past her, muttering, "Just don't get in my way."

She watched him go, her eyes slightly moist, but she squared her shoulders and flew after him.

A few hours later, she was sitting in the back seat of Nightwing's personal jet. He was warming up the engines, their whining hum filling the air and causing the cushioned seats to vibrate uncomfortably.

"I've transmitted the coordinates to the jet's computer system," Batman's cold voice came over the intercom system. "While you're in Africa, I'll keep searching for the other two Titans."

"Did you check my flight plan?" Nightwing asked as he flipped numerous switches.

"You shouldn't run into any trouble. Contact me as soon as you have him. We'll watch for activity here in Gotham."

"If Blackfire appears again, Mr. Batman," Starfire leaned over Nightwing's chair and gazed into the screen, "I do urge you to flee. She is very powerful, and I fear for your well being, as well as for the girl-bat and the new Robin."

She would have sworn the corner of Batman's mouth twitched as he nodded. His image disappeared from the screen, and Starfire sat back.

Nightwing carefully guided the jet into the clouded sky, and she smiled as the plane broke through the heavy blanket that surrounded Gotham City and into the dazzling night of the sky.

"Nightwing," she started as he engaged the autopilot, "tell me of this—Benin."

"It's a country in Africa," he answered. "One of the poorest nations in the world. Capital city is Porto Novo, though the city right next to it – Contonou – is the main spot for tourism and governmental activities."

"And this – Contonou – is where we are going?"

"Yeah."

"How do you intend to find Beast Boy once we arrive?"

"Ask around," Nightwing shrugged. "It's a known quantity that not many people have seen a green, furry gamekeeper before – even _in _Africa."

Contonou, Benin was a bustling city full of people. Starfire gaped at its bustling marketplaces and its beautiful scenery as the jet flew over the city. Nightwing set the plane down on the outskirts of the city, and he covered it with a camouflaging cloth. Donning a poncho to cover his costume, he tossed a cloak to Starfire.

"Put it on," he ordered. "We'll stand out without trying."

Starfire slipped into the cloak and looked up to smile at him, but he was already moving toward the city. She picked up her pace and soon caught up with him. The scorching wind caught in her hair.

Within an hour they had reached Contonou. After speaking to a few people, Nightwing quickly ascertained the location of the wildlife preserve office.

They found it with little difficulty – a rundown shack of a building. They stepped into the ramshackle shed, and Nightwing knocked on the door.

An old black man inside looked up and smiled brightly at them, his face nearly disappearing in the folds of skin that crinkled.

He greeted them in a tongue that Starfire did not know. Nightwing seemed to understand and requested something of the man.

"Of course, of course!" the man clapped his hands and stood, grabbing his cane and hobbling toward them. "I speak English well. French, better. But English too! Welcome to Contonou!"

"We're looking for a certain gamekeeper we were told works here," Nightwing said. "He might go by the name, Beast Boy."

"Beast Boy?" the man looked confused. "No, we have no one by that name."

"BB, perhaps?" Starfire asked.

"No, no one by that name either."

"If he works here, you can't have missed him," Nightwing shook his head. "He has green—"

"Oh!" the old man's eyes lit up. "Agé! You must mean Agé."

"Agé?" Starfire asked, casting a confused glanced at Nightwing.

"Agé," the old man hobbled to the window and gazed out over the African plains. "The god of brush and wild beasts."

"No," Starfire shook her head. "Beast Boy is not a god. He is a person capable of—"

"Did he tell you his name was Agé?" Nightwing interrupted her.

"No," the old man sat down in his rocking chair, his ancient joints creaking. "No, he didn't tell anyone his name. He just appeared on the reserve one day – talking to the animals like they were old friends. We started calling him Agé. The children call him 'Gazali.'"

"The mystic," Nightwing frowned.

"So, naturally, we call him Agé Gazali," the old man smiled weakly. "He speaks to the animals as if he is one of them. He is magical."

"Where can we find him?" Nightwing asked.

"If you want to find him," the old man leaned his head back and sighed, "just go out to the savannah and wait where the lions roar. Agé prefers the lions."

"Thank you for your time," Nightwing bowed his head and took Starfire's hand, dragging her out of the ramshackle old house.

"Nightwing," she scowled uncharacteristically as she tried to match his fast-paced strides, "we are not looking for anyone named Agé Gazali. We are looking for Beast Boy."

"I know that, Star," Nightwing rolled his eyes behind his mask. "But I think Beast Boy is using that name."

"A masquerade?"

"Possibly. Either way, we'll know in a little bit."

"What did that man mean? Where do lions roar?"

"I think I have some idea."

* * *

Nightwing and Starfire glided out over the plains of Benin. Starfire flew slightly behind him, following his lead as he glanced around at the ground beneath them, searching for something.

"Where are we going?" she asked.

"Where the lions roar."

"Yes, I understand this. Yet, I am still confused."

"Just trust me, Star."

"Of course, Nightwing."

"There it is," he suddenly said and pulled up short – so quickly that Starfire nearly collided with him.

He folded his blue wings in and dropped to the plains. He landed solidly and smirked at the large rock formation before him. Starfire landed softly beside him and stared.

The rock formation had been covered in ancient drawings of roaring lions.

"I saw this the last time I was in Benin," he said. "The kids around here call it, "roaring rock.' I figured that's what the old man meant."

"Splendid!" Starfire applauded. "But, where is Beast Boy?"

A growl suddenly split the air. Nightwing and Starfire whirled to face a snarling lioness crouching in a dry thicket a few feet off.

"Robin," Starfire squeaked.

"Don't move," Nightwing snapped, ignoring her slip. "Stay still, Star."

She nodded and obeyed. They watched the lioness pace, her golden eyes dark.

"Why does she do that?" Starfire watched it fearfully as the creature circled them. "We have done nothing to her."

"We probably stepped into her territory," Nightwing answered calmly. "Just don't move."

"Nightwing—" she started, turning to look at him.

The lioness let out a scream and charged!

Starfire had just moved to fly into the air when something furry and white landed roughly in front of her and Nightwing.

A—a polar bear?

Starfire and Nightwing stared as the huge bear leaned back on its hind feet and roared viciously. The lioness halted in her tracks and sat down on her haunches. Nightwing smirked in victory as the polar bear suddenly changed into a large lion, its golden mane shining in the hot African sun.

The two lions stared at each other for a moment before the lioness slowly moved away. The lion turned to Nightwing and Starfire and let out an ear-piercing wail, tackling them both to the grass and sobbing, choking out unintelligible phrases somewhere between a human voice and an animal snarl.

"Beast Boy?" Starfire threw her arms around the lion's neck. "Is it truly you?"

The lion stopped blubbering and sat up, its golden body slowly transmuting into a human form – covered in green fur.

"Star!" he roared, lunging at her again and hugging her until she could not breathe. "And Robin!" he did the same to Nightwing, who tried to escape but utterly failed.

"You look way different, dude, but you smell just the same!"

"Thanks," Nightwing pried the man's arms off of him.

Beast Boy looked exactly the same – down to the green eyes, green hair, and green fur that covered his body. He wore khaki fatigues and clunky hunting boots. He was still short and skinny.

"I do not understand, Beast Boy," Starfire smiled at him. "When you became animals before, they were all green. These animals now seem normal in color."

"I guess it's because I got older," he shrugged.

"So the people around here call you, Agé?"

"Yeah. Some god's name or something," he shrugged. "Man, it's so good to see you guys again!" He hugged them both.

Nightwing shrugged out of the embrace quickly, though, and straightened his collar.

"Robin! What's up with you, huh? You got grumpy, dude. I mean, you were always grumpy, but you're like old-fart grumpy now."

"It's not Robin," Nightwing snapped. "I go by Nightwing now. Get used to it. And get packed. We need your help."

"Help? Help for what?"

"My sister, Blackfire, has returned and is in a most unpleasant humor," Starfire took Beast Boy's arm. "Will you please help us?"

"Does this mean what I think it does?" Beast Boy's eyes were shining.

"The Teen Titans shall be reunited!" Starfire rejoiced.

"All right!" Beast Boy jumped up and down, changing into a kangaroo. "This is the happiest day of my life!" He flipped backward and landed next to the lioness who had returned to watch the three people speak. "Did you hear that, Nala? It's a reunion!"

"Nala?" Nightwing scoffed.

"Dude, didn't you watch the Lion King?"

Nightwing slumped his forehead into his palm and groaned as Starfire smiled beautifully.

"Isn't this marvelous, Nightwing?" she laughed. "We shall all be together once more!"

"Oh," he sighed, "goody."


	8. Chapter Seven: A Family Man

**"Firestorm"  
****Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series  
****By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Seven: A Family Man**

Beast Boy chattered incessantly. After the Titans had disbanded, he had wandered the Earth for a while, searching for his purpose. He had tried the superhero business, going it alone, but on his own, he had found himself to be ineffective as a crime deterrent. Eventually he had come to Africa, hearing about a game warden position in Benin. On seeing how the animals reacted to him, the government of Benin snatched him up and deposited him on wildlife preserve – in spite of his strange appearance. He had been there ever since.

"I thought I'd never see you guys again," he grinned and hugged Starfire around the waist again. "Either of you!"

"It is a most joyous occasion indeed," Starfire agreed, hugging him in return.

"So what's with the new threads, Robin?"

Nightwing glared over his shoulder at him.

"Nightwing," Beast Boy corrected nervously.

"Like I told Star," Nightwing turned back to the path. "I grew up."

"That's too bad," Beast Boy sighed. "Growing up sucks." As they approached the jet parked on the outskirts of Contonou, he glanced up at Nightwing, "Is that yours?"

Nightwing did not answer but climbed into the cockpit.

"Dude, you're, like, double parked," Beast Boy shouted. "Get it? Double parked?"

Nightwing did not answer. Starfire looked confused.

"Double parked?" Beast Boy threw his hands in the air. "We're on a savannah? You can't double park on a savannah?"

Nightwing did not answer. Starfire still looked confused.

"Forget it."

He smirked, and his wiry form suddenly transmuted into a giraffe. The four-legged, long necked creature with big dark brown blotches on its cream-colored skin peered into the cockpit, making sure to breathe hot breath down his Nightwing's neck.

"Do you mind?" Nightwing glared at his old friend.

The giraffe smiled impossibly and focused on the control panel, ignoring him.

Starfire flew up and hovered at the other side of the cockpit. "Has there been word from Mr. Batman?"

"Yeah," Nightwing answered, punching a few buttons on the control panel. "Looks like they tracked Cyborg down."

"Cyborg!" Beast Boy yelped, the giraffe form changing back into humanoid form. "They found him? We're going to go find him? He's coming with us?"

"Yes," Nightwing responded calmly.

"All right! When do we leave?"

"Beast Boy," Starfire floated down to stand beside him, "do you not have responsibilities here that you must attend to?"

"Naw. I left Nala in charge. She'll take care of everything."

"You left a lioness to manage a game preserve?" Nightwing sounded skeptical.

"She's smarter than she looks."

"I'll bet," Nightwing sighed. "We're leaving now."

"Do I get to ride in the plane?" Beast Boy fluttered his eyes pathetically.

"Of course, friend!" Starfire picked up him and deposited him in the back seat of the jet. "I shall fly alongside. Nightwing, to where are we going?"

"Florida."

"Flor-i-da?"

"Florida," Nightwing repeated. "The Kennedy Space Center."

* * *

He sat in the dark, muttering to himself, his gloved fingers drumming a steady beat on the arm of his wingchair. He stilled, however, when a pair of metallic footfalls approached.

"Don't you have work to be doing?" Blackfire's smooth voice echoed richly in the open chamber.

"Buzz off, sweet cakes."

She floated around to the front of his chair and leaned down to gaze into his whitened face.

"We had an agreement, Joker."

He steepled his fingers and smirked at her, his teeth yellow in the dim light. "Maybe I want to change our agreement."

"Maybe I should kill you."

"Maybe you need me."

"_I _need _you_?" Blackfire leered, backing off and laughing loudly. "That's the most ridiculous thing I've ever heard! Why would _I _need _you_?"

"I know Batman."

"I'm not after Batman."

"But you're after one of his kiddies," the Joker propped his feet up on a table. "It's the same thing."

Blackfire perched on the edge of the table and shoved his feet to the floor. "This isn't a difficult plan, you stupid clown. All you have to do is what I tell you."

"I didn't sign up for this."

The side of his chair suddenly exploded in a rush of violet light, showering him with cotton stuffing and fabric shreds. Blackfire hovered in front of him, her right hand pulsing with violet energy.

The Joker ground his teeth together and stood. "Whatever you want."

"That's better," Blackfire sneered. She floated closer and draped her arms around his shoulders. "I know you're giving up a lot to prove yourself to me. So how about I let you do this hit the way _you _want to?"

He only glared at her.

"Trust me, Joker," she purred in his ear, "this will _all _be worth it."

* * *

"Um," Beast Boy cleared his throat, "what is Cy doing _here_?"

Before them stood the expansive Kennedy Space Center with huge rocket displays and memorials.

"According to the information that Batman found," Nightwing said as the three of them perched in a large tree, "he's working as a researcher on the new ship models. From what Batman can tell, Cyborg's been essential in creating a lot of the parts for the International Space Station."

"Wow."

"How shall we get to him?" Starfire asked. "It does not seem likely that the guards will allow us entrance."

"They won't let _us_ in, Star," Nightwing offered a mischievous smirk, "but I've a mind to think they wouldn't stop a sparrow." He cast a meaningful glance at Beast Boy.

"What?" the short green man asked. "Is there something in my teeth?"

* * *

He popped his neck as he exited the educational facility of the Kennedy Space Center. Waving absently at a few friends as he passed, Cyborg shifted his white lab coat and threaded through the crowds toward the base housing at the other end of the compound.

A strange noise suddenly sounded above him. He stopped and turned, his gaze settling on a strange looking bird perched on a power line. Its brown feathers ruffled in the breeze, and its beak opened and closed uttering strange popping noises.

"A kookaburra?" he muttered. "What's that doing here?"

He eyed the strange bird for a moment before he proceeded toward his house. He eyed the white sided structure with a sigh and stepped onto the porch. His metallic hand lighted on the doorknob.

With a flutter of earth-colored feathers, the kookaburra appeared again, perching on the porch swing and emitting all manner of strange snapping, cracking, and ticking sounds.

Cyborg glared at it with his one organic eye. Suddenly, the door opened, revealing a small black woman with long black hair.

"Hi, hon," she greeted Cyborg with a beautiful smile, which quickly faded when she saw his expression. "What's that?" She nodded at the bird.

"It's a kookaburra."

"A kookaburra? I didn't think those birds left Australia."

"They don't."

"So either it escaped from a zoo, or—"

"Or I don't know what," Cyborg approached the animal cautiously.

The bird, however, was no longer paying any attention to him and was focused totally on the woman. If Cyborg had not known better, he would have sworn the bird's jaw had dropped three inches at the sight of her.

"Cy, be careful!"

The bird turned back to look at him, and he grabbed it. In a storm of feathers and a whirlwind of shrieks, the bird struggled as Cyborg brought it into the house.

"Call animal control, Téa," he said. "Good thing birds can't be rabid."

The kookaburra squawked and rattled as it tried to escape the mechanically altered man's grasp.

With a loud bang, however, three pairs of feet came crashing down the hallway and charged into the den where Cyborg and Téa were standing.

"Mom, Dad?" the eldest of the three, a stout boy of eleven, demanded. "What's all the noise?"

"It's a bird, Petey!" the middle child, a girl of eight, laughed, climbing onto the back of the couch. "Dad, where'd you get a cool bird like that?"

"Is it a bad bird, Daddy?" the youngest, a girl of five, latched onto Cyborg's leg and hugged it close.

"You kids calm down," Cyborg nodded and frowned, noticing how the bird had suddenly stopped moving.

"Cy," Téa gasped. "Did you kill it?"

"I don't think so," Cyborg held up the bird and looked into its face. "It's still breathing."

"What's wrong with it, Dad?"

"You didn't squish it, did you?"

"Can I put it in my room?"

"Pete, you cannot have a dead bird in your room," Téa sighed heavily, walking to find the phone.

"Why not? It would freak all my friends out."

"It's not dead," Cyborg said. "I think it's just in shock."

"Can birds do that?" the middle child asked.

"Jess, why don't you pick Violet up," Cyborg nodded to the little girl wrapped around his shin.

Jess obeyed immediately, prying her little sister off of her father's leg.

"Cy!"

Cyborg went rigid and turned around. "Did you hear that?"

"Hear what, Dad?" Pete asked, turning to go back to his room.

"Cy!"

Cyborg stuck his head into the kitchen. "Téa, did you call me?"

"Cy, I'm calling animal control," she scowled. "No, I didn't."

"Cy, I'm right here!" the muted voice hissed.

Cyborg turned around once more and then examined the bird again. Suddenly, the bird turned and stared him in the eyes. Its beak opened in a strange smile, and it winked at him.

"Nuh-uh," Cyborg muttered.

"Hi, Cy," the bird croaked.

"BB?"

"Yup, it's me."

"BB!!" Cyborg shouted and crushed the bird in a bone crunching hug. "Holy cow! I can't believe it's you! Téa! Téa! Get in here!"

"Cyborg," Téa groaned as she came from the kitchen, "do you want me to call—animal control—or not?" Her voice trailed off as she saw her husband hugging the bird and dancing around the room. "What's gotten into you?"

"This isn't an animal!" Cyborg held the half-crushed kookaburra up by one wing. It uttered a faint cackling sound, seeming thoroughly squashed.

"Daddy, it's a bird," Jess pointed out.

"This is Beast Boy!" Cyborg insisted.

Instantly, the three children's faces lit up. "Beast Boy!?" they yelped together.

The bird revived quickly and looked at Cyborg.

"It's all right, man. They know everything."

"I've got fans?" the kookaburra asked.

"Yep," Cyborg grinned.

"All right!" Beast Boy shouted, the feathers falling away as he reassumed his human form.

Cyborg had not released him and still held his arm, his feet dangling off the carpeted floor.

"BB."

"Cy."

They embraced again.

"It's great to see you, man."

"You too."

Cyborg set him on the floor. "Are you here alone?"

"No," Beast Boy shook his head. "Starfire and Robin are here too."

"Robin? Robin's here?"

"He goes by Nightwing, now. Don't ask. I'm sure it's a long story."

"Where are they?"

"They're waiting outside."

"For what?" Cyborg cocked an eyebrow.

"For you," Beast Boy said. "We're getting the team back together."

"Cy," Téa started, and he held up his hand.

"BB, are you serious? The Titans are getting back together?"

"It's a one-time thing, Cy," Beast Boy shook his head. "At Star's request. Blackfire is back."

* * *

"Nightwing," Starfire's voice broke into his thoughts.

She stood up and gazed over the green plains outside the Kennedy Space Center. A tall, broad-shouldered man in a white lab coat was walking toward them with determined steps. A hat rested on his head, and a kookaburra perched on his hat.

Starfire covered her mouth with her hands and cried aloud in joy, "Cyborg!" She flew toward him and hugged him. "My heart is overjoyed to see you once more!"

"A kookaburra?" Nightwing grumbled. "Couldn't you come up with something less conspicuous?"

The bird jumped off Cyborg's hat and changed forms. "I'm ignoring you."

"Star!" Cyborg gasped, "I can't breathe!"

"Forgive me," Starfire pulled away. "I have missed you terribly."

Cyborg's gaze shifted from Starfire to Robin – to Nightwing. He held out his hand, and Nightwing shook it warmly.

"Nightwing, huh?"

Nightwing cast an amused glance at Cyborg's left hand where a golden band shone in the sunlight. "Married, huh?"

"Yeah, and with three kids!" Beast Boy exploded. "Who'd have ever pictured Cy as a family man?"

"Three offspring!" Starfire rejoiced. "Truly magnificent!"

"Yeah, yeah, yeah," Cyborg gave Beast Boy a gentle shove. "What's our next move?"

"Can you leave so suddenly?" Nightwing asked.

"I've got a bunch of vacation stored up," Cyborg shrugged. "Téa's got the kids."

"Next, we find Raven," Nightwing started walking toward the jet.

"Oh, that'll be pleasant," Beast Boy complained. "But, hey, you never know. Robin turned into a major grouch. So maybe Raven will be, like, living on a tropical island in the Caribbean, subsisting on fresh fruits and sunshine!"

Nightwing, Cyborg, and Starfire looked at him dubiously.

"Hey!" Beast Boy snorted. "A guy can dream, can't he?"


	9. Chapter Eight: An Unexpected Development

A/N: Hey, everyone! I am **floored** every time I open my email and see more reviews. **It's so awesome**! Thanks for reading! I thought I had best **explain something** that I thought I had cleared up in the Author's Note in Chapter Three. **I know nothing about the Titans' pasts, and I don't have the time to look any of it up**. I was aware of the whole Koriand'r (sp?) thing, but I made a decision when I started writing this that since I knew little to nothing about it I would keep to what the **TV SERIES** had. And on the **TV SERIES** Starfire is Starfire, Cyborg is Cyborg, Beast Boy is Beast Boy, and Raven is Raven – at least in the episodes that I have seen. I know about Dick Grayson's past because I've been a big Batman fan since the animated series first debuted back in – what was it? – 1991? I'm old. So, for those of you who've been asking, I hope this explains it. I'm going to do another TT fic sometime that actually reflects their "true" pasts, but this isn't it. Sorry if you were looking for something along those lines. I'll try not to disappoint with this one. Thanks again for reading! OH! And just to reassure you, none of the Titans look as bad as they did in last Saturday's (Oct. 2) episode!!

**

* * *

Firestorm**

**Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series**

**By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Eight: An Unexpected Development**

Cyborg whistled under his breath as they approached Nightwing's jet. He had covered it with a camouflaged sheet, and it had remained undetected.

"Nice wheels, man," Cyborg ran his robotic fingers over the fuselage.

Nightwing smiled at his old friend and jumped into the cockpit. Starfire descended on his right and watched over his shoulder as he entered a code into the keypad below the view screen.

"Batman?" Nightwing spoke aloud into the radio. "Are you there?"

Nothing but static answered.

Nightwing frowned and leaned back in his chair.

"What if it's a text message?" Beast Boy wondered from beside Cyborg. "Like last time?"

"What's going on?" Cyborg scratched his slightly balding head.

"The Mr. Batman finds the information to where everyone is," Starfire replied cheerily, "and he informs us of his findings. That is how we were able to find both of you so quickly."

"There's no message in the Inbox," Nightwing muttered.

"Maybe he forgot," Beast Boy said with a shrug.

Nightwing leveled a glare in his direction, saying, "Batman doesn't forget. Not even the things he wants to forget."

A light suddenly switched on and flashed.

"What is that?" Starfire whispered, hiding slightly behind the edge of the cockpit.

"Looks like we got an email," Nightwing nodded succinctly and tapped a few more buttons. Instantly, a text message appeared on the screen.

It was short, clipped, and cryptic.

_Batman __Drake Ave.  
__Old friends returned.  
__Request immediate return.___

Nightwing cursed through his clenched jaw and buckled his seatbelt. "We have to go back to Gotham."

"Is that where Raven is?" Beast Boy morphed into a tabby striped cat and perched on the cockpit ledge.

"No."

"It is Blackfire," Starfire covered her mouth with her hands.

"Cyborg, get in," Nightwing jerked his head over his shoulder. "Beast Boy, you're either flying on your own or staying small. Star—"

"I am capable of transporting myself, Nightwing," she patted his arm. "I did not fly in a ship when I came from Tamaran."

He smiled slightly at her and closed the cockpit glass as Cyborg buckled in.

"There's only one buckle!" he heard Beast Boy panicking. "How am I going to buckle in? Buckle up? Buckling's important!"

The jet's engines whined as they powered for take off.

"Let me out!" Beast Boy was crying. "I'll fly!"

"Too late," Nightwing countered and jerked back on the flying column.

The jet shot into the air.

The momentum flung Beast Boy, still in cat form, against the glass of the cockpit, flattening him there spread-eagled. He wheezed loudly, and Cyborg laughed. "You've got your own Garfield, man!"

* * *

If there had been sixty of them, the thugs would not have been a problem. As it was, however, over a hundred was asking too much.

Batgirl ducked under a punch and kicked her high-heeled boot into the midsection of a man three times her size. He stumbled and fell, and another landed beside her and backhanded her against a trash dumpster. She reached up, gripped the handle, and flipped, driving her boots under the man's chin as she did so. She landed solidly on top of the dumpster, and instantly a pair of huge arms crashed around her, jerking her bodily into the air!

Robin was avoiding blows with ease since most of the thugs toward multiple feet above his head, and none of them could move as quickly as he could. However, he could not knock any of them down. His fists, though strong and hard as iron, were still small. As a result, he had basically taken to hit-and-runs in hopes that by wearing them down, he could knock someone out.

Batman was another story. He punched, kicked, blocked, and kicked again, taking down every thug that challenged him with grim determination and unfaltering confidence. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw a particularly large man snatch Batgirl off her feet. The old protective instinct deep inside flared up, and he flung a batarang across the roof. It struck the man squarely on the side of the head. He dropped Batgirl fell unconscious to the ground. Batgirl flashed him a look of appreciation and moved to tackle the next thug.

It had started as a few purse snatchers on Drake Avenue. Nothing to worry about. The moment Batgirl had intervened to stop it, the thugs came from out of nowhere. Robin arrived soon after, and Batman after that. He had hesitated on leaving the search for the last Titan, but on hearing Batgirl and Robin's desperate voices yelling at each other over the radio, he left quickly, leaving Alfred with instructions to tell Nightwing as soon as he checked in.

The three vigilantes fought for what felt like hours until every thug on the street corner. When it was over, Batgirl was sporting a bleeding lip, and Robin had three long scratches down the side of his face. Batman was uninjured.

Wild, maniacal laughter suddenly echoed around him.

"We should have known," Batgirl growled turning. Batman did not move as the Joker hopped merrily out of the shadows.

"Bravo!" he laughed obnoxiously. "Wonderful show!" he clapped his hands. "And working bird one down too. I'm impressed. Really I am."

"Where is she?" Batman glared at him, his voice darker than the night surrounding them.

"She?"

"Blackfire," Robin spat. "Where is Blackfire?"

The concrete at their feet suddenly erupted in purple light! The force drove them to the ground! Batman fell to one knee before he regained his balance and grabbed hold of Robin's cape to steady the teenager. A quick flash of movement to the left caused Batman to turn. A metal fist impacted with the side of his face. He vaguely heard Batgirl yelp, and the purple light dissipated.

Batman and Robin stood by themselves on the street, surrounded by another hoard of club-wielding thugs.

Neither Blackfire nor the Joker were anywhere in sight.

And Batgirl was gone.

* * *

They really did not talk much as they flew quickly toward the north. Cyborg revealed how he had met his wife, some of the details of their wedding, and every unimportant tidbit of each of his children's school records.

"It's great, having kids," he laughed heartily. "Better than I thought it would be." He looked at the back of Nightwing's head. "I have to say, though, I never expected to see you again."

"Why not? We didn't part on bad terms or anything."

"I know," Cyborg shrugged. "But—Your goodbyes—They just always seem so – final." A beeping sound filled the cockpit. "Hey, we've got a contact on radar."

"What is it?"

"Don't know, but it's small."

Nightwing peered through the gloom and scowled darkly. The flash of the moon sparkled off metallic body armor.

"It's Blackfire," he cursed. And he cursed again as he eyed the figure the Tamaranian fugitive was carrying.

The moon shone on blood-red hair.

_Batgirl_.

Nightwing watched a flash of red hair streak by his window. Starfire had seen them too.

"Beast Boy," he said tersely.

"I'm on it!" Beast Boy replied. "Get me out of here."

"Hold on, Cy." Nightwing pulled a lever, and the floor beneath Cyborg opened. Beast Boy jumped out and immediately changed into a huge condor.

Batgirl had stopped struggling long before as Blackfire dragged her higher and higher above Gotham. The air was thin and cold. Her lungs burned for oxygen.

"Now," Blackfire purred, lifting Batgirl up by her shoulders until they could see eye-to-eye, "you are going to tell me—" Blackfire yelped as a blast of green light exploded at her lower back. She dropped Batgirl for a moment before snatching her wrist and whirling around in the air.

Just in time to take Starfire's glowing green fist in her face.

Blackfire dropped Batgirl.

She tumbled end over end, plummeting through the clouds helplessly. Even if she had a tow line, she could not have fixed it to anything.

She heard a condor screech above her, and she looked up with some effort. A massive bird was diving toward her. She gaped in shock as the huge bird's talons closed around her falling body and pulled up, carrying her gently down toward the city.

The shriek of a jet engine reached her ears, and she saw Nightwing's plane touch down on a building top.

"He made it!" she laughed.

"You bet, sister!" the massive bird laughed.

She gawked at it again, and it winked at her.

* * *

"Batman! Look!" Robin shouted.

Batman knocked a thug over and glanced up. An enormous condor flew down toward them from the clouded sky, Batgirl safely in its talons. The bird dropped her on the street, and instantly, the animal shifted forms and morphed into a golden lion, charging after the thugs like a creature possessed.

Robin stared in awe as the lion suddenly changed again into an octopus with far too many tentacles and began grabbing thugs left and right and holding them up in the air.

A huge blue blast of light burst off of a rooftop and sent five thugs through a building wall, and a tall, burly black man landed solidly at the other end of the street. He sported a glowing mechanical arm with a pulsing sphere of energy gathering in his fist.

"You want some more of this?" he shouted and shot again, knocking another ten thugs halfway down the street.

Nightwing landed behind him, smirking slightly. He jumped, though, as a burst of purple light erupted at his feet. He and Batman traded a glance as two blurs flew overhead, the vortex behind them nearly knocking them all over.

Starfire and Blackfire were fighting.

Batgirl watched with rapt attention as the two sisters hurled huge energy bolts at each other, blowing holes in buildings, melting concrete, and snapping street lamps as if they were nothing but toothpicks.

At last, they stopped flying, but only because Blackfire had a handful of Starfire's thick red hair. Brutally, Blackfire flung her sister into the street, shook herself off, and clenched her fists.

"You weren't supposed to be back yet!" she shrieked.

And flew away into the clouds.

Starfire slammed into the concrete viciously. The rough pavement shredded through her uniform and tore into her skin. She stopped herself, though, and moved to stand, but Nightwing stopped her.

"She's gone, Star."

"But—?"

"Let her go."

She nodded quietly and winced at the blooded patches on her arms and legs.

A quiet footfall sounded behind them, and Nightwing looked up at Batgirl.

"Hey," she smiled and kneeled down to look at Starfire's wounds, "are you guys all right?"

"You are the one for whom we should be concerned," Starfire protested.

"The octopus gave me a lift," Batgirl cast a look at the octopus who was presently twirling the thugs around like a merry-go-round at a carnival.

Instantly, he sprouted another tentacle and waved at her.

Robin was still staring blankly at the two new arrivals. Batman moved silently to Nightwing's side and nodded.

Nightwing nodded back. "This is Cyborg, and that's Beast Boy." Cyborg nodded. Beast Boy instantly changed back to his normal form, dropping the twenty-odd thugs he had been swinging around.

"Thank you for coming," Batgirl smiled at them. "Come on. Let's get out of here before the police show up."

She helped Starfire stand up, and Beast Boy and Cyborg instantly fell into a conversation with Robin as they headed back toward Wayne Manor.

Nightwing and Batman stood side-by-side, gazing into the dark clouds.

"Was it just Blackfire?" Nightwing asked softly.

"The Joker was here too."

"What did they want?"

"I don't know," Batman admitted with a decided amount of chagrin in his shadowed voice. "And that's what bothers me."


	10. Author's Note: To simsfan8503

**Author's Note: To simsfan8503**

I know this is not something that should be posted because we're only supposed to post chapters and not Author's Notes solely, but I felt this needed to be said. Mostly just because I'm trying to get a hold of this person, and his/her email address doesn't work.

* * *

This is a review that was posted to "Firestorm":

From: simsfan8503 )

I hate to do this, but aside from slight grammer mistakes in the last

two chapters, you failed to notice that the four other Titans have NAMES

and LIVES.

Starfire-Koriand'r/Kori Anders  
Cyborg-Victor Stone  
Beast Boy/Changling-Garfield Logan-Former member of the Doom Patrol and  
a former actor who has failed to make a comeback.

I looked up the profiles when you started this great fanfic.

* * *

Here's my answer to **simsfan8503**:

Dear simsfan8503,

Thank you for your review. Uh . . . would you please tell me where the

grammar mistakes are? That's something I can't stand in my writing,

and I'd appreciate it if you would tell me some specifics.

On the other issue of neglecting the names and lives of the Teen Titans

-- Check the Author's Note in Chapter Five:

"A/N: Everything I know about TT comes from the cartoon series. I know

nothing about Starfire's/Blackfire's "real" names/histories, their

parents' names/histories, or anything else. So those of you who know

all that wonderful stuff, bear with me."

I have no idea about who the Titans really are outside of the TT show,

and though I probably could have spent more time than I did looking up

information about the characters, I preferred to use what I could

derive from the actual cartoon show instead of looking to other

sources.

Besides, as a senior in college, I really don't have time to research

my fanfiction thoroughly.

But thank you for your review. I'm planning on another story with the

Titans, and I might incorporate their real names and lives into that

one.

Have a wonderful day!

Amos Whirly


	11. Chapter Nine: Promise

A/N: Um . . . my reference to the Author's Note in Chapter Three . . . That should have been Chapter Five . . . . I can't count. I'm a communication major.

**Firestorm  
****Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series  
****By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Nine: "Promise"**

Barbara looked up as someone knocked on the spare bedroom door.

"Come in," she called.

The door swung open, and Bruce slid into the light inside the room. "You all right?" His voice sounded less dark outside of his cowl.

"Fine," she answered cheerily, rubbing the bandage on her left forearm.

Bruce moved toward her and sat on the bed beside her, twining his fingers and hunching his back.

"She didn't say what she wanted, did she?" he asked.

"No," Barbara shook her head, her red hair bouncing with the motion.

Bruce tapped his thumbs together, deep in thought.

"Have you found anything on the last Titan?"

"The computer is scanning," he responded. "Tim's watching it. I wanted to check on you."

"Thanks for your concern," she blushed slightly and stood. "I'm fine."

He watched her move toward the window. She was walking stiffly.

"You sure?"

She turned back and smiled. "I landed crooked, Bruce. That's all."

He rose and stood beside her, setting a gentle hand on her shoulder as they stared out the window together.

"Where are the Titans?" she asked.

Bruce chuckled at the back of his throat. "Beast Boy is giving Alfred a lesson on cooking with tofu."

"Oh, boy. And Cyborg?"

"Trying to convince Alfred to cook something with meat."

Barbara absolved into giggles and leaned against him. "Poor Alfred."

"Don't worry about Alfred, Barb. He knows how to handle hungry young men."

Barbara searched his face for a moment. "Where's Starfire?"

"She went to find Dick."

"And where is Dick?"

She watched a muscle clench in his jaw. He did not answer.

"Bruce," she whispered, "you can't stay angry at him forever. Just like he can't stay angry with you forever."

A small, sad smile crossed his lips. "That's where you're wrong, Barb. I taught him never to forget."

* * *

He was obviously deep in thought. Starfire watched his stiff figure perched on the railing on his balcony, the wind tossing his long dark hair, his blue eyes intense and focused. She approached quietly, though knowing he was very much aware of her presence.

"Yeah, Star?"

She jumped at his voice, crossed her arms, and leaned against the railing beside him.

"What are you doing?"

"Thinking."

"Of what? Of Raven?"

"Sure."

"Nightwing—"

She stopped as one of his hands closed over her own, and she looked up at him. His blue eyes gazed unflinchingly into her face.

"Star," he said softly, "Dick."

"What?"

"Dick. My name is Dick."

She looked confused.

"It's not—You shouldn't call me Nightwing when I'm not in costume."

Starfire stuck out her lower lip and narrowed her eyes. "You are asking me to call you Dick."

"Yes."

"Not Nightwing."

"Right."

"Not Robin."

"That's right, Star."

"I am terribly confused," she tilted her head, her luminous green eyes distraught. "When I first arrived here, you told me to no longer refer to you as Robin but as Nightwing for that was now your name. Now you say that I should not call you Nightwing but Dick because that is your name. I do not understand this apparent lack of certainty concerning your person."

In spite of himself, Nightwing chuckled at her distress and swung his legs to the other side of the rail and stood up. "It's the whole superhero alter ego issue we've discussed before."

"So what am I to call you?" she wailed.

He chuckled again, took her arm, and guided her back into the manor. "Dick when I'm dressed like this. Nightwing when I'm not."

"I will do my best, Ni—uh—Dick."

He sat on the couch in his room and smiled to himself. "It's good to see Beast Boy and Cyborg again."

"Most certainly," she sat beside him. "I have missed them tremendously. You have as well." It was not a question.

"Yeah. I have."

"You seem ashamed to admit it."

He fell silent.

"I have been thinking," she laced her long, slender fingers together on her lap, "about our encounter with Warp all those many years ago."

"Warp," Nightwing murmured. "I remember."

Starfire drew her shoulders closer together. "Do you remember what I told you of my journey to the future? How the Titans had split and grown distant and sour and unfriendly?"

"What are you getting at, Star?"

"Warp told me that history cannot be changed. I thought that by coming back, by reuniting with all of you back then, that I had. We were together again, and the future I experienced could not have been accurate. Now I see, though, that history truly cannot be changed."

"What do you mean?"

She looked up at him, tears forming in her emerald eyes. "We are separated. Distant. Out of contact with each other."

"Starfire, stop," he leaned forward suddenly and set a hand on her knee, taking her other hand and forcing her to look at him. "Those two situations are completely different."

"How?"

"There's a big difference, Star, between growing apart and following different paths. And that's all that happened. We all chose different paths. We haven't grown apart. We've just – moved on. Cy wanted a family. Beast Boy wanted nature. You had to go back to Tamaran."

"And what of you? What did you want?"

He leaned back.

"I don't know," he admitted softly.

"I fear for Raven," Starfire wrung her hands. "For in that future I saw so long ago, she had lost her mind. The lack of friendship for her drove her mad. I am terrified that she will not be—not be—" Her voice trailed away.

"Star," Nightwing's eyes were closed, "I'll tell you right now the main difference between this future and the one you saw then."

"What?"

"You weren't there."

She furrowed her brows.

"When you chased after Warp and got sucked into that time portal, you left the present and were taken to the future. You weren't around in the past to affect our present, and in the future we fell apart." He smiled slightly. "You were the one who always kept us together."

"Then, it truly is my doing that the Titans have separated. This is a most grieving revelation."

"Star," he took her hand again, "we haven't separated. If we had, we wouldn't be talking to each other. We wouldn't have been willing to come together again. All we knew is that you asked us for help—," he hesitated before he continued, "and that we'd do anything you asked us."

"Anything?" she suddenly turned to him, her eyes hopeful.

"As if I could say no," Nightwing seemed to have taken an extreme interest in the carpet.

"Then, may I ask you something?" she squeezed his hand.

He closed his eyes.

"Would you share your darkness with me?"

He turned to her with a confused expression. "What?"

"I spoke with the girl-bat," Starfire did not release his hand. "She told me that human heroes oftentimes possess an element of darkness in their lives that dictates their actions."

Nightwing watched her eyes and slowly smiled.

"I ask you now, Dick," Starfire leaned toward him, "would you share this darkness with me? Would you allow me to truly be your friend?"

"You are my friend, Star."

"You are no one's friend," she countered. "You hide within the darkness of your heart and refuse to touch or be touched. You detest the Mr. Batman for his control of your life, but you have become very much like him."

"Friends are weakness."

"Friends are strength," she gripped his hand with both of her hands. "You knew this once. Do you not remember? The five of us were friends, and together we triumphed."

Starfire felt a thrill of hope as his hand softly squeezed back.

"You need not bear this darkness alone," she breathed with tear-filled eyes. "Share it with me."

He did not speak. The silence in the room was unnerving, but she waited patiently until his fingers squeezed again.

"I never took you to the circus," he whispered.

A knock sounded, and the door opened. Bruce stood in the shadows of the doorway, his expression, though unseen, undoubtedly grim. "I've got a lead."

"On Raven?" Nightwing sat up straighter.

"Yes. Pack your winter coat."

Bruce disappeared from the doorway, and Nightwing stood, though not relinquishing his hold on Starfire's hand. He pulled her up beside him and looked seriously down at her.

"We'll talk when this is over," he brushed the side of her face with the back of his hand. "I promise."

She nodded and followed him out the door.


	12. Chapter Ten: Solitude Standing

**Firestorm  
****Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series  
****By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Ten: "Solitude Standing"**

"You're kidding, right?" Beast Boy's voice was tight and strained as he gaped openly at the flashing screen in the Batcave.

"Siberia?" Cyborg echoed. "What is she doing in _Siberia_?"

"So much for my desert paradise idea," Beast Boy moaned and promptly morphed into a fat polar bear, whining piteously.

"According to the little information the computer could find," Bruce said as he continued to type on the keyboard, ignoring the wails of the foul-tempered polar bear behind him, "Raven's first known location after you all left the city was Rome. Seems she stayed there for about a month before she moved on."

"Why was she in Rome?" Nightwing wondered.

"Maybe she wanted to talk to the Pope," Cyborg shrugged, earning a glare from both Nightwing and Bruce.

"Where did she show up next?" Barbara asked.

"She left Rome and pretty much disappeared for a couple of years," Bruce reported. "Her last recorded stop was a small outpost in northern Siberia. She apparently went out there with a Dr. Grishenko who was studying underwater organisms under the ice. She signed up with his expedition."

"She went _with _someone?" Beast Boy sounded suddenly concerned.

"Dr. Ingrid Grishenko," Bruce said. "She was a biologist from Moscow."

"Was?" Nightwing asked.

"She died recently of exposure," Bruce said. "Her body was discovered outside a Siberian hospital."

"Whoa," Cyborg whispered. "How recently?"

"Last week."

"Oh, well, that's encouraging," Nightwing grumbled.

"Now, now," Starfire crossed her arms, "you do not think that Raven would have—"

"She was always mental," Cyborg snorted. "Maybe the doctor ticked her off."

"Gee, Cy," Beast Boy scratched the back of his head. "Even if she was crazy, I mean, she was all right. We were all a little nuts anyway."

"Did anyone check the station?" Nightwing asked.

"Yes," Bruce said, "but they didn't see anyone. There was no sign that anyone had ever lived there."

"If there was no one there," Cyborg pointed out, "wouldn't that mean logically that there's _still _no one there?"

"Logically," Bruce answered and hit a button. "I thought the same thing until I checked the thermal readout of the area." Another screen popped up on the viewer covered in brilliant colors. "See the oblong structure at the center of the screen?"

"Yeah," Beast Boy nodded.

"That's the station," Bruce replied.

"Why is the station orange while the surrounding area is blue?" Starfire asked.

"Because the station is reading around eighty degrees Fahrenheit," Bruce smirked.

"I see," Nightwing muttered. "So it's being heated."

"There's someone there," Barbara put in, "but that doesn't mean it's this Raven."

"It's the best shot we've got," Nightwing said, straightening and moving toward the back of the cave where his costume was hanging.

* * *

Starfire stood skeptically in front of the mirror in the hallway, eyeing the clothing she was wearing. Barbara had loaned her a pair of warm pants and a long sleeved shirt, and Tim had secured a green woolen hat with flaps over her long red hair.

"I feel very strange," she admitted.

"You look strange," Tim shook his head.

"Tim," Barbara elbowed him.

Starfire turned and bowed her head, smiling beautiful, "Thank you so much for the warm clothing. I am quite certain the frost shall not bite me."

Tim sniggered aloud.

The three of them returned to the Batcave where Nightwing was crawling into the cockpit of his jet. Starfire lifted into the air and settled in the seat behind him.

"Beast Boy," Nightwing leaned over the edge of the cockpit and glared at the green-haired man who was hurriedly consuming the last of the tofu pizza Alfred had managed to make.

"'Kay!" he swallowed the last huge bit and morphed into a lizard, scrambling up the side of the jet and flopping into Starfire's lap. "Alfred, baby, you're the best!" he waved a three-fingered hand at the prim butler who was gathering up the dishes.

"Thank you, sir," Alfred sighed as Tim laughed loudly.

Cyborg and Bruce stood at the front wheel.

"Be careful out there," Cyborg said.

"You guys just watch out for Blackfire," Nightwing deadpanned. "She'll be coming back."

Bruce nodded, and the glass closed around the cockpit. Bruce watched Nightwing guide the jet out of the Batcave and vanish into the expansive darkness of the outside world.

Alfred sighed as he gathered up the last plate and patted Cyborg on the back. "Come, Master Cyborg, I'm certain you could use a spot of tea."

"Sure," Cyborg grinned and followed the butler up the stairs, followed closely by Barbara and Tim, leaving Bruce to stare after the jet in silence.

* * *

The jet landed smoothly in a tall drift of hard packed snow. Starfire was already shivering obviously before Nightwing opened the cockpit.

"There's the station," he pointed to the dilapidated structure less than a quarter mile away.

Beast Boy morphed into an extra-hairy polar bear and started lumbering through the snow toward the station. Starfire buried her fingers in his warm fur and walked beside him. Nightwing led the way.

After what felt like an eternity, they reached the station. Nightwing knocked on the door, and they waited. No answer. Finally, he knelt and pulled a lock picking kit out of the bag around his waist. He picked the lock with little difficulty, and pushed the door open.

The room beyond was dirty, empty, and silent. The three travelers hurried out of the blustery wind and shut the door behind them, and darkness surrounded them.

"Deep into that darkness peering, long I stood there wondering, fearing," Nightwing muttered under his breath. "Doubting, dreaming dreams no mortals ever dared to dream before."

"Huh?" Beast Boy growled from under the polar bear's voice.

"'The Raven' by Poe.

Starfire lifted her hand and formed a green orb of light around her fingers, filling the room with green light.

The instant the green light touched the multiple surfaces in the room, however, the room seemed to melt, changing from a dirty storage shed to a tidily kept science station with lab equipment, computer screens, and data charts.

No one moved as the room altered around them.

Starfire let her light fade as the light in the room took over.

"O-_kay_," Beast Boy murmured, returning to human form. "That's weird."

The far wall shivered strangely, and a figure slowly faded into view. She seemed to blend in with the white wall, her colorless cloak billowing as she levitated. Nightwing, Beast Boy, and Starfire watched her lower to the floor and stand. She did not turn to them.

It seemed she had grown neither in weight or stature since the Titans had parted. If anything, she had lost weight.

"Raven?" Starfire whispered, taking a step forward.

The woman in the white cloak did not move.

For a moment, Starfire felt a thrill of terror surge through her limbs. Memories of that forgotten future flashed before her eyes, seeing a white-cloaked Raven, unreachable and distant, a prisoner in her own mind.

"Raven, it is I. Starfire." Starfire stopped just behind the small cloaked form. "Beast Boy is here as well. As is Robin – who is now called Nightwing – and also called Dick when he is not wearing his costume."

Nightwing hung his head and shook it tiredly.

"You shouldn't be here, Starfire," a low, gravelly voice whispered from the confines of the darkened hood. "None of you should be here."

Nightwing allowed a sigh of relief to bow his shoulders. At least she recognized them. "We need your help, Raven," he said.

"Come on, Raven!" Beast Boy bounced to stand beside her. "The Titans are back together!" He reached to pull her into a hug.

She moved before any of them saw it, her neck twisting, her eyes flashing an impossible color of white, and flinging Beast Boy across the room and into the wall, holding him there.

Shocked silence fell over the room.

"Do _not_ touch me," she hissed in a voice not her own.

She blinked, and the shining light from her eyes faded again to shadow. Beast Boy slid to the floor, still gaping at her.

"Raven," Starfire frowned, "we are your friends. We have come to ask you for your assistance."

"I have no friends," Raven returned her unseen gaze to the wall.

"You're wrong, Raven," Nightwing took a step closer to her and stood beside Starfire. "We're your friends. We always have been."

Raven turned and pulled the hood away from her face. "I _have _no friends," she repeated. "I will not allow myself to have them. Not again."

The jewel on her forehead was red as blood and shone in the dim light. Her smooth perfect skin remained pale gray-lavender, and her hair though longer was still violet and thick. Her violet eyes were foggy though, no longer clear, and filled with an agony she tried with every ounce of her soul to hide. She had traded her deep blue cloak for a white one, and her old ensemble had been replaced by warm white robes.

"Raven," Starfire took a deep breath. "My sister has returned, and we need your help to defeat her."

Raven's left ear twitched as she closed her eyes. "Leave. Now."

"But, Raven?" Beast Boy struggled back to his feet. "We need you."

"No, you don't. It's not worth it. Any plan you have I'll destroy."

"This is about Grishenko, isn't it?" Nightwing glared at her.

Starfire watched nervously as the wall behind Raven began to boil great large bubbles as if it were a soup on a stove.

"How did you know about Ingrid?" Raven's voice was barely a whisper.

"That's who you came out here with," Nightwing continued. "A biologist."

"My friend," Raven's voice shook, the boiling wall behind her beginning to shine, the heat melting the paint. She shook her head violently and glared at them, the wall falling quiet. "I do not wish to think about her."

"Raven," Starfire took another step toward her and held out her hand, "do you not remember all the times we shared together? All the hanging out we did? You taught me to meditate, to still my mind and find an inner peace within my heart. Allow us to help you as you helped me."

"No one can help me," Raven would not look at her.

"Raven."

"I killed her."

Starfire jerked her hand back, and Beast Boy gaped in astonishment at the confession.

"Why?" Nightwing demanded.

Again, the wall began to boil.

"I didn't mean to."

"How did it happen?"

"I don't know."

"Nightwing, knock it off," Beast Boy glared at him.

"You killed her, and you don't know how?"

"Nightwing, please," Starfire whispered.

"It just happened," Raven's voice was rising in pitch. "I didn't mean for it to happen."

"Tell me how it happened, Raven."

"Dick, stop!" Starfire pleaded.

"Raven, now!"

"It was Trigon!" Raven screamed, the force of her rage suddenly erupting around her in a storm of black energy that drove them all backward four feet. Beast Boy crashed back into the wall, Nightwing lost his balance and fell to the floor, and Starfire knocked a table over.

After five minutes of a storm of black energy swirling around them, Raven managed to bring it all under control again, drawing the darkness within her slim frame with a gasp of pain. She sank to her knees and sat there.

"It was Trigon," she whispered. "Trigon. Trigon."

Starfire stood and knelt beside her. "Your father?"

"Ingrid and I met at a university in Rome," Raven whispered. "She was studying marine mammals in artic conditions and was looking for support. I had gone to Rome looking for—for something. For some kind of peace."

"Raven."

"After the Titans split, the defenses of my mind began to weaken," Raven seemed to fold in on herself. "Even at the slightest hint of emotion I could level an entire building. So I went to Rome in search of something to keep my mind focused. I had been there once a long time ago and found it restful. Instead of peace, I found Ingrid."

Nightwing leaned against the wall, listening carefully.

"She understood me," Raven looked up, her cloudy eyes full of tears she would never shed. The wall began to boil again. "She understood that I needed to be alone, but she knew I needed something to keep my focus. We left Rome together and gathered support. And we came here. To this station. We were here a year, learning about the life beneath the ice. I helped her with her experiments. She left me to my meditation."

"Gee, Raven," Beast Boy knelt at her other side. "You must have been lonely."

Raven stood and walked to the single window, the motion causing her cape and robes to flutter. "No. No, I made progress. I trained my mind, I tamed my soul. After a year together, I found I could laugh again, I could smile again." The entire station shivered as Raven clenched her fists. "Then, the dreams started."

"Dreams?" Nightwing asked.

"Trigon."

"Do you have your mirror?" Starfire asked.

"I couldn't use it anymore," Raven sighed, closing her eyes and calming herself to keep the station from collapsing. "He was too strong, and I was too weak."

"Did you tell Ingrid?" Beast Boy whispered.

"Not in so many words," Raven's head lowered. "I had warned her before we left America. I had warned her that I was unstable, that my mind was disturbed, that I had powers that could destroy her. She wouldn't listen. I tried to tell her when the nightmares started that she needed to go, but she wouldn't listen." Her fists clenched again, and a shudder of fury shook the station to its foundations. "She wouldn't listen."

Starfire and Nightwing exchanged a fearful glance.

"Every night," Raven continued, "Trigon came into my mind, invading, tearing down every emotional wall I had built. He left me like an open wound and beat my soul till it bled. I woke one morning, and Ingrid was dead."

Beast Boy lowered his gaze.

"Blood," Raven wheezed, her eyes beginning to flash again and dark energy starting to swirl around her white-cloaked body. "Blood in her nose, her mouth, her ears. Her eyes were blank. Staring."

"Raven!" Starfire snapped.

Raven started at Starfire's voice and glanced at her.

"It was not your fault," Starfire stood and set her jaw.

"I killed her."

Starfire braced herself and flung her arms around Raven's slight shoulders. Raven's eyes erupted in white light, and the room filled with dark energy. But Raven did not throw Starfire away. Instead, she allowed her to hold on. Starfire whispered something continuously, and Raven leaned her head against Starfire's shoulder.

Nightwing watched and eyed the station again.

Something did not seem right about the situation.

Raven killed someone in her sleep? Granted, her mind had always been unstable, but even Trigon had to use the mirror to reach others around her.

Something was not right.

A knock sounded suddenly on the door, and all activity in the room ceased.

"Who could that be?" Beast Boy curled his lip.

The door exploded inward, and a storm of gunfire poured into the room.


	13. Chapter Eleven: Revelation

**Firestorm  
****Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series  
****By Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Eleven: "Revelation"**

Nightwing saw Beast Boy go down hard. He grabbed the green man by the arm and dragged him behind a counter as the bullets continued to rain around them. Starfire was not having trouble blocking them, though, as she had generated a shield of pulsing green light around her slender body. Every bullet that touched it instantly melted.

Raven did much of the same, black energy crackling around her white-cloaked frame.

Seeing that the girls were all right, Nightwing turned his attention to Beast Boy who was sporting a bloody wound in his left arm.

"Owie!" the green-haired metamorph wailed aloud.

"Just hold still," Nightwing ordered, snatching a towel off the counter and wrapping it securely around Beast Boy's arm.

Suddenly, the hailstorm of bullets ended. Nightwing peered around the cabinet at Starfire who was frowning darkly.

He stood up slowly, looking around. The little station was filled to capacity with gunmen in white coats. The gunmen slowly parted, and a figure in a gaudy purple parka appeared in their midst.

"Well, what do you know?" the figure cackled in a too familiar voice. He pulled the hood down revealing his unnaturally white face and gelled green hair.

"Joker," Nightwing growled. "What are you doing here?"

"I could have asked you the same question, bird boy."

"I asked you first," Nightwing gestured unobtrusively to Starfire who let her glowing green shield drop. Raven followed suit. "Why are you here, Joker?"

"Well, since I'm going to kill you all anyway," the Joker burst into obnoxious laughter, "I here for her." He pointed to Raven. "Blackfire sent me to recruit her."

"Raven will not work along side someone so evil as my sister!" Starfire stomped her foot.

"Why not?" the Joker's grin was malicious. "She's a murderer now, after all."

Green energy flickered in Starfire's clenched palms as Raven lowered her gaze to the floor.

"Why are you taking orders from Blackfire?" Nightwing demanded. "You've never taken orders from anyone."

The Joker eyed Nightwing darkly for a moment before bursting into loud laughter again. He gestured to the gun men who closed in on Starfire, Nightwing, and Beast Boy, and he approached Raven on quiet feet.

Raven did not move.

"Tell your girlfriend, bird brain, that if she tries anything, the boys here will paste your shape shifting friend all over the wall," the Joker threatened as Starfire raised her shield again. She dropped it immediately at the threat.

One of the gunmen hoisted Beast Boy to his feet and shoved him at Starfire who caught him.

"So what do you say, Raven?" the Joker set his hands on his hips. "Want to join the club?"

Raven did not answer.

"See the world? Live the life? Getting richer every second?"

Raven did not answer.

"You don't talk much, do you?"

"I want nothing to do with you."

"Why not?" the Joker cackled. "We're alike now, you and me."

"I'm nothing like you."

"But, you killed your friend," the Joker circled her like a vulture. "That's the mark of a bosom buddy if I've ever seen it. A kindred spirit! An ally, as it were, in a world full of goody-two-shoes!"

"I didn't mean to kill her."

"Of course, you did," the Joker chortled. "People like you always mean to do what they do even if they don't realize they do."

"Do not listen to him, Raven!" Starfire cried. "He is crawling under your skin!"

The Joker rolled his eyes and leaned closer to Raven. "How did you stand living with these idiots for so long?"

"They are my friends."

"Great. Go hang out with them. Maybe you'll kill them too. That would do me a big favor, and they wouldn't keep messing my plans up."

Raven fell silent again.

"Come on, Raven, baby!" the Joker held his arms open, his unnatural grin daunting. "You don't belong with them anymore."

"Yes, she does!" Beast Boy shouted. "Leave her alone!"

The Joker looked over his shoulder at the gunmen. "Why are they still talking? Shouldn't you have shot them by now?"

The gunmen shrugged.

"Raven, we are your friends," Starfire clasped her hands against her chest. "We shall always be your friends, and you shall always be welcome in our company no matter what you have done."

The Joker glared pointedly at the gunmen who grabbed Starfire, Beast Boy, and Nightwing and forced them to the floor, guns at their heads.

"So what do you say?" the Joker leaned in toward her.

Raven looked up, her violet eyes piercing through her friends. Eyes full of pain and guilt.

"You and me, baby," the Joker circled to her other side.

"Against whom?" Raven hissed. "Them?"

"Of course, not," the Joker laughed. "They won't make it out of here alive. It's you and me against Blackfire."

Nightwing looked up sharply.

"Against – _Blackfire_?" Starfire looked confused. "Is she not your ally?"

"I don't have allies," the Joker spat. "And the friends it looks like I make, I only make to benefit me. I agreed to work with Blackfire because I wanted something only she could give me."

Nightwing's gaze shifted to Raven. "You wanted a partner."

"You're perceptive, for a bird brain," the Joker nodded at the gunmen.

The men pulled the triggers.

And the guns did not fire.

Each weapon sparkled with a strange black electricity. The Joker whirled to face Raven whose eyes were flashing white.

"You wanted me as a partner?" she hissed. "I would never work with you."

"I had hoped by murdering your friend you would have realized—"

"Realized what?" Raven's voice was shaking with fury, the remaining walls of the station beginning to ripple with her rage. "That I could be evil if I wanted? That I could kill people with a thought? I knew that. I've always known that. And I've done my best all my life to avoid it!" She clenched her fists and the guns ripped out of the men's hands. "What makes you think that I'd agree to let that happen now?"

"You're a killer, Raven," the Joker leveled a withering glare at her. "You killed an innocent, slaughtered her in her sleep. Murdered her while she clutched her little rabbit. You've done it once, now. You'll do it again. That's the way these things work. _Que serà ser_."

Raven lowered her hands.

"Raven, do not listen to him!" Starfire was crying openly now.

The gunmen had grabbed their firearms out of the air and were preparing to shoot again. Nightwing searched desperately for an opening.

Raven suddenly looked up, something dangerous flashing in her violet eyes. "How did you know that Ingrid slept with a stuffed rabbit?"

The Joker opened his mouth to respond and fell darkly silent, his eyes showing for a split second a moment of hesitation. "It's a fact, stupid," he shouted, "that all Russian scientists sleep with a toy rabbit. It's something about communists."

Raven's eyes flashed again, rivers of red light creeping into the white. "How did you know?" she repeated, her slight frame levitating off the floor, and the white cape billowing around her. "How did you know that she slept with a rabbit? No one knew. Only I knew!"

The Joker took a step back.

Raven clenched her fists, and the guns exploded in the men's hands. They screamed in pain and started backing away from the levitating woman in the white cloak.

"Tell me!" she demanded, her voice taking on a darker, deeper tonality as dark energy crackled around her. The walls of the station were tearing apart.

The Joker, for the first time Nightwing had ever seen, actually seemed cowed, gaping in shock at the storm of black lightning that was filling the ruins of the laboratory.

Raven clenched her fists, the energy surging around the Joker's body and jerking him off the floor and holding him in the air. "Tell me!" she roared.

The gunmen shouted in terror as the storm of black energy reached its peak and the walls gave way. The roof collapsed on top of the storm of Raven's fury, blasting apart instantly at the contact. The force of her rage formed a whirlpool of energy on the ground. Nightwing grabbed Starfire and Beast Boy and held them down as the waves of power washed over them.

"Now!" Raven's arms trembled with anger.

"It was Blackfire!" the Joker finally cracked, glancing warily at the icy ground below him and the furious woman who held his life in her hands.

Her eyes no longer flashed white – they were red.

Blood red.

"When Blackfire got to earth," the Joker cajoled, "she knew that her sister would follow and try to reunite her friends. So Blackfire tracked you down first. She found you out here with that scientist and decided to kill her and make you think you did it."

"Blackfire must have triggered the nightmares," Raven hissed. "Her presence must have reawakened the memories of Trigon I had hidden." Her fingers went rigid, and the wind increased. "You killed her. You watched while Blackfire killed her!"

"What do you expect?" the Joker shrugged. "Would you put me down now?"

The black energy surrounding Raven's body suddenly shuddered, red light surrounding both her and changing the sparking electricity until it became frenetic and wild, crackling and snapping at everyone trapped within its grasp.

"I won't let you get away with this," Raven snarled.

Her fists opened.

Raven, the Joker, Nightwing, Starfire, and Beast Boy vanished in a blast of power that melted through the ice and snow and shredded into the clouds.

When the light faded, all that was left of the station was an enormous crater in the ice, filled with the melted remains of the snow that formerly covered the ground.


	14. Chapter Twelve: Blackfire vs the Bats

A/N: Sorry for the delay. I'm almost done! Thanks for all who've been reviewing! Your responses have been _overwhelming_!

**Firestorm  
****Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series  
****Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Twelve: Blackfire vs. the Bats**

An explosion of blue light tore through the concrete streets of downtown Gotham City. Cyborg planted his feet solidly on the ground and aimed the laser cannon built into his arm at the large purple tank that was rolling down the street toward him.

"This guy's got no class," he muttered and fired. The blue blast smashed into the tank, igniting the gas chamber underneath it. It exploded in a giant fireball that rained down pieces of singed purple metal.

Robin landed beside him and snickered at the Joker's henchmen who were scurrying around the tank. They wore bright overalls and white face paint.

"No style either," Robin pointed out.

He and Cyborg high-fived.

_f s f s f s_

Batgirl ducked beneath a brutal punch and swung her right fist into the soft flesh under her assailant's chin. He stumbled backward and fell.

A shot rang out, and she felt a bullet crease her left arm. She jerked quickly and dropped. She heard a man curse, and she spotted him as he threw his pistol away and quickly began ascending a fire escape. With an angry sound, she ran after him.

_f s f s f s_

Across the street, Batman was surrounded by seven of the henchmen, all wielding various chains and firearms. He took a step backward and snapped out a batarang that whistled in a circle around him and knocked the weapons out of the henchmen's hands. They regarded him in stunned silence before he stepped forward and punched the biggest goon in the midsection and followed through with a right hook to his chin. He fell backward, unconscious, and the other men backed off. Batman jumped and landed in front of them and took down two more with a leg sweep. He knocked another through a shop window, tied two more with another batarang, and ran after the seventh man. He caught him in a few steps, grabbed the back of his shirt, and hauled him off his feet and into the side of a building.

_f s f s f s_

She scrambled up the fire escape, dodging the occasional items the henchmen threw down at her – trash cans, iron bars, potted plants, and a cat that had been asleep on a window sill (which she caught and replaced). The henchman vaulted onto the roof of the building, and she was right behind her. He swung at her and missed as she ducked and kicked him. He fell onto his back, grabbing her left wrist and yanking her violently over his head.

She was too close to the ledge.

Her right ankle scraped over the edge of the building, but she could not get a foothold. She tumbled bodily over the side of the roof and plummeted toward the street!

_f s f s f s_

Batman knocked three henchmen through a glass window and looked up in shock at a cry of alarm. Batgirl was falling.

He moved to grab the grappling claw on his utility belt, but another henchman slammed into him with a cry of fury.

Across the street, Cyborg and Robin were struggling with ten henchmen. Robin looked up and saw Batgirl's red hair fluttering in the night wind as she tumbled head-over-heals toward the cement!

_f s f s f s_

Batgirl struggled with the last batarang in her utility belt. It wouldn't come out! The street was getting closer!

Finally!

She snatched the batarang and high-density cable out of her utility belt and moved to throw it –!

A purple blast of power slammed into her side and knocked the wind out of her lungs! She reeled in the air, and a pair of inhumanly strong hands clamped onto her ankles, jerking her out of her fall and snapping her head backward.

Her fingers let go of the batarang, and it tumbled to the earth as her body began ascending. She forced her throbbing neck to look up, and she gaped at the beautiful woman who was carrying her higher and higher into the skies.

"Blackfire!" Batgirl yelped and tried to kick her way out of the alien's hold.

"Uh-uh-uh, little girl bat," Blackfire halted in midair and released Batgirl's ankles.

No longer supported, Batgirl fell again.

_f s f s f s_

"Where did she go?" Robin wailed, searching the skies frantically.

Batman threw off the last henchmen who had attacked him only to be sandwiched between five more.

"Blackfire took her," Cyborg said. "It had to be!"

"There! There!" Robin pointed.

Batgirl was cartwheeling through the clouds again, plunging toward the Earth. And Blackfire was right behind her.

_f s f s f s_

Twenty feet before impact, Blackfire snatched her ankles and yanked her back into the sky. Batgirl thought she was going to throw up. Her head was whirling, her vision swam before her eyes. Batgirl soared back into the clouds with a speed that sent Batgirl's stomach into her throat.

Again, Blackfire released her ankles, but inertia kept Batgirl flying upward. With nothing to hold on to, Batgirl sailed through the clouds and tumbled toward the earth again. But Blackfire grabbed her by her shoulders and held her at arm's length.

"What do you want?" Batgirl demanded.

"You're hardly in a position to be making demands."

"I'm not afraid of you. What do you want?"

"I want you to tell me who you are."

"Buzz off."

"Tell me, or I'll drop you again."

"I said, buzz off. I'm not telling you anything."

Blackfire shrugged and dropped her. As Batgirl plummeted again, Blackfire ticked off the seconds on her fingers, smirked, and chased after the falling vigilante.

_f s f s f s_

Batman quelled the rage that was building in his chest as he watched Batgirl fall again, only to be caught moments before she hit the ground and dragged back into the clouds.

He scowled and threw the henchmen off of his shoulders.

"Robin!"

The teenage boy looked at him instantly, and his face lit up. "Got you, partner!"

Batman ducked beneath another charging henchman and rapidly ascended a fire escape. "Cyborg," Batman shouted down. "Can you see them?"

Cyborg caught on quickly. "One more building should do it!" he shouted back.

Batman leaped to the next building and ran.

_f s f s f s_

"You are frustrating," Blackfire complained. "But I think you'll tell me who you are after a few more drops!"

Blackfire let go of her ankles, and Batgirl fell through the clouds. Her eyes watered behind her mask. The earth was swiftly approaching.

She gasped against the cold air, though, as she burst through the clouds.

Batman was running across a building rooftop.

His muscles were gathering.

He jumped.

His muscled body crashed into her as he caught her out of the air, launched his grappling claw, and swung out of the fall. He landed safely on a neighboring building. She clung to him for a moment before sliding down and nodding at his unspoken question.

Then, they leaped down together, followed by a hailstorm of purple energy blasts that dug holes in the concrete and vaporized lampposts.

Batman and Batgirl rejoined Robin and Cyborg and tensed as Blackfire slowly levitated down the street from them.

Her upper lip curled in disgust.

Robin moved to throw a charge at her, but Batman stopped him. "Wait."

"What is it?"

Batman hushed him and strained his ears. "Something isn't right."

Blackfire looked suddenly concerned as she glanced to the right and the left of the street. The lampposts that remained intact had begun to flash with an eerie black light. Bolts of black electricity slithered up and down the streets like snakes. Batgirl's hair crackled with static.

"Batman," Batgirl whispered, "what's happening?"

As if on cue, a small red orb of energy materialized in the middle of the street, flashing with power and sparkling with dark fire. Its surface rippled in time with the pulse of a silent heartbeat.

Then, it exploded.

The force of the blast drove everyone backward ten feet. Blackfire crashed through a brick wall, glass raining down around her from the shattered windows above.

Batman gathered Batgirl and Robin under his protective cape as shrapnel from the destroyed tank and shards of glass engulfed them. Cyborg turned his mechanical back to the onslaught, knowing that his armor plating would protect him.

A red light washed over them like a tidal wave of warmth, and as the debris ceased falling, Batman looked up.

In the center of the street, a woman in a white robe and a white cape floated, spheres of red and black light pulsing in her palms. Her eyes flashed red and white intermittently.

The Joker was picking himself up at her feet.

Nightwing, Starfire, and Beast Boy stood staring at the woman in white.

"Raven?" Cyborg whispered incredulously.


	15. Chapter Thirteen: Sisterly Love

**Firestorm  
****Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series  
****Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Thirteen: Sisterly Love**

Blackfire picked herself out of the rubble of a building and levitated to where the newcomers were standing.

"I see you figured out our little ploy," she announced cockily.

"We figured it out," Nightwing countered. "You're the one who's out of the loop, Blackfire."

The Joker squeaked and dashed down an alley, but Raven held out her hand. Her eyes flashed white, and the Joker was snatched him off of his feet! She flung him into the side of a building and held him there. He waved at Blackfire with a silly grin.

"It is true, Sister," Starfire lifted her chin. "This Jokester was going to cross the double with you."

Blackfire arched her eyebrows, her beautiful face twitching. "Of course, he was, stupid." She held out her hand and blasted six holes in the wall against which the Joker was pinned. The bricks collapsed around him, burying him in a mountain of rubble.

"You knew he would turn against you?" Beast Boy looked confused.

"Yes," Blackfire exclaimed. "He's a criminally insane homicidal maniac. That's what they do, isn't it?" She clenched her fists and flung a massive orb of pulsing violet energy toward them!

Starfire flew upward. Nightwing dodged left. Beast Boy dodged right.

Raven did not move.

She spread her arms, her body flashing brilliant red light, and caught the pulsing orb.

Her slender fingers went rigid. "Ingrid," she whispered. "You killed Ingrid."

Slowly, Raven's light spread through the pulsating sphere, transmuting the violet light into blood red light. And with a scream of effort, Raven flung the glowing sphere back at Blackfire!

Blackfire was so shocked that she could not dodge the orb. It hit her and knocked her backward, but she managed to regain her balance in the air with little difficulty.

Cyborg released a volley of laser bolts, most of which missed. But they distracted her long enough for Beast Boy to morph into a giant condor and attack from the sky. She threw Beast Boy off but was unprepared for Nightwing leaping off a building and tying her with a metal cable. He looped the other end around a lamppost, anchoring Blackfire to one spot, and Starfire slammed into her sister.

Blackfire broke free of the cable, but she could not avoid Starfire's fists. Blackfire tried to back away, but every time she got outside of Starfire's reach, Cyborg would shoot at her, Beast Boy would dive at her, or Raven would throw a car or huge hunk of concrete at her.

Narrowing her eyes in a glare of rage, Blackfire threw herself at her younger sister, star bolts flying, devastating beams of light pouring from her eyes. Starfire met her head on.

Batgirl grabbed a batarang off the ground and moved to launch it at Blackfire, but Nightwing stopped her with a gentle hand. "This is between sisters," he rumbled softly. "Let them finish it."

"Aren't you worried?" Batgirl gasped.

"Star is stronger than she thinks she is," Nightwing answered. "More importantly, she's stronger than Blackfire thinks she is."

Starfire grabbed Blackfire around the waist and flew into the side of a building. The bricks cracked and shattered under the stress of the blow. Blackfire grabbed a fistful of Starfire's red hair and threw her backward, blasting her with violet starbolts. Starfire evaded most of them, twisting gracefully in the air, and shot back at her, green spheres of power trembling in her hands.

On the ground, Raven watched in silence.

"Hey," Beast Boy appeared beside her, "you go left, and I'll go right? How's that sound?"

"No."

"No? Why not?"

"Blackfire is Star's sister," Raven spoke darkly. "She may have killed my friend, but Blackfire is Star's responsibility."

"But—"

"No, buts," Raven reached up and pulled her hood off. "Just knowing that it wasn't me who killed Ingrid is comfort enough. Besides, if I allow myself to take revenge, I might really lose control." She smiled suddenly. "And now that I've found all of you again – or rather, now that you've found me – I don't want to risk that happening."

Beast Boy grinned broadly at her.

They both looked up suddenly, though, as a massive explosion tore through the air. A huge plume of greenish-purple smoke settled over the block as Starfire and Blackfire continued to battle in the sky.

"Batman!" Robin shouted, gesturing to a pile of rubble.

Batman moved toward him quickly and started digging through the bricks and metal supports. Batgirl joined in as well, and in a moment, they had unearthed a very dirty, half-conscious Joker, whom Batman cuffed immediately.

Batman allowed his focus to shift from the Joker to Nightwing, who stood tensed watching the fight in the heavens, as if nothing else were happening around him. His gaze was centered solely on Starfire, her red hair flowing through the air like fiery satin.

Batman nodded to himself and turned back to the Joker.

Starfire drove Blackfire through the branches of a tree. The older Tamaranian tried to throw her younger sibling off, but nothing she did stopped Starfire's attack.

"You threatened my friends!" Starfire shouted as she landed a punch squarely in Blackfire's stomach that made her flip in the air. "You hurt Raven! You have damaged people I care about!" Starfire blasted her with a bolt of green light.

Blackfire caught it with her hand and crushed it. "You're weak, little sister. You always have been. You only stopped me last time because the police were there. You won't stop me now."

"You are wrong, Blackfire!" Starfire lunged at her, grabbing her arms and flinging into a building again. Blackfire did not recoil so quickly this time.

Starfire hovered in place, her slender shoulders quivering with anger.

"You are my sister," she whispered. "I admired you. I respected you. I wanted to be like you."

Blackfire charged again, but Starfire deflected her attack with a bolt of green light so violent that it sent the older Tamaranian crashing through another building.

"My sister," Starfire continued, tears falling freely down her beautiful face. "I care for you. I love you, my sister. But I cannot excuse the evil that you have done!"

Starfire clapped her hands together, and a massive orb of green light gathered around her. Her eyes flashed brilliant green light, and energy began to crackle around her. The black clouds that covered the Gotham skyline parted, revealing a night sky flickering with stars. Starfire's hair whipped around her face in the whirlwind of power that surrounded her.

Blackfire uttered a scream of rage and flew toward her little sister, firing violet bolts of light in an attempt to make her lose focus.

It did not work.

Blackfire had almost reached her when Starfire leveled a tremulous gaze at her.

"Forgive me, my sister," her mournful whisper echoed on the wind.

And she released the churning ball of energy.

Blackfire could not avoid it.

The searing green light tore into her like a storm of fire, ripping, shredding, tearing her apart until even her scream faded into the night.

Spent, Starfire let her arms fall to her side, and she lowered herself to the ground as the clouds reassumed their place in the heavens. Once her feet touched the street, she collapsed to her knees, sobbing.

"It's over," Cyborg said, breathing a sigh of relief. "She's gone."

"But, Starfire," Raven looked worried.

The red-haired woman sat in the middle of the road and cried aloud, weeping for the loss of her sister. Batgirl moved toward her, but Batman stopped her, the visible portion of his face unreadable.

Batgirl watched in silence as Nightwing knelt beside Starfire and pulled her into his arms. She sobbed into his chest, and he held her close.

_f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s _

A/N: Conclusion tomorrow, Lord willing.


	16. Chapter Fourteen: Those Who Walk in Dark...

**Firestorm  
****Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series  
****Amos Whirly**

**Chapter Fourteen: Those Who Walk in Darkness**

Stately Wayne Manor was quiet in spite of its numerous house guests. Not surprisingly, Bruce had retreated to the depths of the Batcave as the reunited Teen Titans milled around the first level of the mansion.

Cyborg was in the kitchen, talking to his wife on the telephone. From the tenor of his voice, Nightwing immediately assumed that he was downplaying his involvement in the battle.

Alfred was bustling busily around the stove and pantry, preparing a voluminous buffet of cold cuts, salad, and soups. He stopped short, though, when he spotted Nightwing leaning on the doorjamb, watching him.

"How may I help you, Master Dick?"

Nightwing straightened and moved into the kitchen with a grim expression on his face. "Warm milk."

"Warm milk, Master Dick?"

"Yeah. With lots of cinnamon."

Alfred regarded him silently for a moment before smiling gently. "Of course, Master Dick."

In a few moments, Alfred had fixed a steaming mug of warmed milk, smelling of vanilla and coated with a heavy layer of cinnamon and nutmeg on its surface. Nightwing accepted the steaming mug from Alfred with a nod and left the kitchen.

Cyborg hung up the phone and watched him go.

"Did I miss something?" he asked Alfred.

Alfred smiled again, vaguely. "It's somewhat of a tradition, you see, Master Cyborg. When Master Bruce was a child, he often had nightmares. I would always fix him a cup of warm milk with cinnamon when he awoke, and it would always calm him down. Well, naturally, when Master Dick came to us, also plagued with terrible dreams, Master Bruce would have me fix him a cup of warm milk as I did when he was a child."

"And Nightwing's having nightmares? I'm still missing something."

"I am assuming, Master Cyborg," Alfred chuckled, "that the milk is not for him. Rather, for a young woman who, I understand, is going to have some difficult issues to come to terms with."

_f s f s f s_

Nightwing paused on the stairwell at the sound of a quiet laugh in the living room. He peered around the doorjamb and smirked at the two figures sitting on the couch. Raven and Beast Boy seemed deeply involved in some conversation and did not notice him watching.

Raven had rebandaged the bullet wound on Beast Boy's arm, and she had shed her warm cloak, leaving her only in the white robes that fluttered around her lithe frame.

After only a moment, though, Raven turned her head toward him. "Do you need something, Nightwing?" she asked.

"No," he shook his head and looked up the stairs.

"Something smells good," Beast Boy hopped up from the couch and sniffed at the mug of warm milk.

"It's not for you," Nightwing pressed his index finger against Beast Boy's forehead and pushed him away. "It's for Star."

"How is she?" Raven asked quietly.

"Quiet."

Raven sighed and folded her arms across her chest as she looked down. "I should have done it."

"Done what?"

"Taken care of Blackfire. I could have, but I didn't. I thought it would be better for Starfire to handle it on her own."

"Yeah," Beast Boy scratched the back of his head, "but I didn't think that she'd actually _kill_ Blackfire. I mean, I didn't think Star could _kill _anybody."

"Anyone can kill," Raven countered darkly. "It's just the aftermath that's hard."

"Aftermath?" Beast Boy cocked his head, his dark green hair ruffling with the motion.

"Dealing with the fact that you've taken someone else's life," Nightwing held Raven's gaze. "And not just anyone, in Star's case. Her own sister."

"I don't get this," Beast Boy let his shoulders droop. "Blackfire may have been Star's sister, but she was trouble. She was trouble the first time we met her, _before_ she was a homicidal maniac. She would have come back again if Star hadn't done something."

"And Starfire knew that," Raven glared at him. "That's why she did what she did. But I'm sure it didn't make it any easier." Raven turned her glare to Nightwing. "Don't let her stay alone."

Nightwing nodded and started up the steps, leaving Beast Boy and Raven to return to the living room.

He stopped outside the upstairs den and pushed the door open. Starfire was sitting on the balcony, staring at the night sky. The wind caught in her fiery hair. Her green eyes were distant and sad.

Nightwing cleared his throat and sat down beside her. "Here," he offered her the mug of milk.

"What is this?"

"It'll make you feel better."

She accepted the mug and sipped it hesitantly. "This is good. What is it?"

"It's warm milk," Nightwing leaned back. "I'm not sure what Alfred puts in it, but it always made me feel better – when I was – upset."

"Thank you."

They sat in silence for a long time, watching the clouds, watching the moon, watching the lights from the city reflected in the gloom of night.

"Is this what it feels like?" she suddenly asked.

"Hm?"

"Is this what it feels like?" she turned to him, her eyes wet with unshed tears. "To feel a darkness so deep within your soul that you cannot escape it? Is this the darkness that the girl-bat spoke of?"

"No, Star. You shouldn't feel darkness."

"But I do," she set the mug of milk down and hugged her knees to her chest. "I feel darker than the skies of starless space. This darkness within threatens to overwhelm me, and I do not know what to do." She choked on a sob, and the tears began to fall.

Automatically, Nightwing scooted closer and pulled her into his arms. She folded into his embrace and cried into his chest.

"It's not darkness you feel, Star," he whispered. "It's – sadness."

"Of course, I am sad. I have killed my sister. My flesh and blood. My beloved Blackfire."

"You did what needed to be done."

"Have I not shown that I am as evil as she was? By destroying her utterly, I have displayed my own lust for—"

"Star, stop it," he pushed her back and looked into her tear-stained face. "You couldn't be evil if you tried." He hung his head for a moment and then looked at her again. "Why did you do it?"

"Why?"

"Tell me why you killed Blackfire?"

"Because," Star whispered, tears still slipping from her eyes, "she was dangerous. She had threatened all of you the first time she came to earth. And this time she actively tried to hurt you all. I knew," she hiccupped. "I knew if I did not stop her this time, that she would come back again. And she would be more violent the third time. And I might actually – lose – my friends. I could not bear for that to happen." She took a shuddering breath. "So I chose to accept this darkness upon myself."

"That's not darkness, Star. Darkness would have been letting her go."

"I do not understand."

He shifted and crossed his legs, focusing on the grain of the wooden floor of the balcony. "You don't have any darkness inside you, Star."

"But you do?"

"I do."

Star picked up the still-warm cup of milk and offered it to him. He stared at her blankly before chuckling. "See?"

"See what?"  
He took the mug from her, set it on the floor, and gathered her hands in his own. "You're the one who needs to be comforted, and you want to comfort someone else. That's not a sign of a dark person."

"Then what are you doing here, if you are not comforting me, Dick?" she gazed steadily at him. "If the desire to comfort is indeed a sign of the lack of darkness, perhaps you are not as dark as you think you are."

"That's different, Star."

"Please, explain."

He took a deep breath and squeezed her hands. "Do you want to know why I never took you to the circus?"

She moved closer to him, wiping her eyes. "Yes."

Nightwing licked his lips. "I used to be _in _the circus, Star. My family and I were trapeze artists. Do you know what that is?"

"The graceful people who fly without wings," Star whispered incredulously. "You were one of their number?"

He chuckled at her awe. "Yeah. Me and my mom and my dad. One day, just before a show, I walked into the tent and saw a man leaving with a knife."

"A knife?"

"He'd cut the ropes."

"The ropes?"

"The ropes that we swing on."

"And he was cutting them?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because he wanted revenge on the manager for firing him or something," Nightwing shook his head. "I heard the argument that they had. I knew he was trouble, and I should have said something. But I didn't. I tried to tell my parents, but we had a show to do." He clenched his jaw. "The ropes didn't hold. My parents fell. And I did nothing."

"You would have stopped them if you could have," she patted his knee. "I know your heart."

"Do you?"

They held each other's gazes for a moment before Starfire looked into the heavens. "I remember a day, long ago, when I was a child and when Blackfire was too. We were home, on Tamaran, in a field of _snordfar_. We lay beside each other in the grass and watched the clouds. She was happy then, not seeking wealth or power or vengeance." Starfire leaned against Nightwing again. "As I watched her yesterday, I could plainly see that she was not my sister. She was not the person I had loved and admired as a child. She was corrupted, twisted, and evil. I—I had desired to keep her the way I remembered her when I was young – a beautiful warrior with integrity and kindness – but I could not deny her dreadfulness when I beheld her yesterday."

She sipped her warm milk, now cooling.

"I am still sad."

"You're going to be. But – But it will get better." He took her hand. "And I'll be here for you."

"Thank you for sharing your darkness with me."

"I promised, didn't I?"

"You did." She watched him for a moment. "I cannot stay here."

His jaw twitched. "Why not?"

"I have responsibilities," she stood and leaned on the balcony railing. "I have duties I must attend." She turned back to him. "Blackfire was the heir to the Tamaranian throne. When she was arrested, she forfeited that right. With my coming of age a few years previous – Dick, I am the ruler of Tamaran."

He climbed to his feet and leaned on the railing beside her. "You're the Queen?"

"Yes."

"Why didn't you say something earlier?"

"It was not important. But I must return to Tamaran, Dick. I must return to my people."

He reached out suddenly and took her hand, holding it tightly and watching how the moonlight shone on her white skin.

"I let you go all those years ago, Star," he whispered. "I won't let you go again."

"I must. I cannot stay on earth, though my heart yearns to be with you." She leaned against him, laying her head on his shoulder.

"You're right. You have responsibilities."

"I must return home."

"Then, I'm going with you."

She drew back, startled. "Go with me?"

He drew his hand down the side of her face and cupped her cheek in his palm. "When I watched you leave, it felt like everything I knew died. I've been alone ever since you left, Star. I don't want to be alone anymore."

"You would – truly – you would come to Tamaran with me?"

"I'd go anywhere with you," he leaned closer to her. "I love you, Starfire."

She gasped softly as he kissed her, and she folded into his arms as he surrounded her and pulled her closer than before. When he released her, she did not attempt to move. She lay in his arms, cherishing the solid beat of his heart beneath her ear.

"I no longer feel so sad," she whispered against his chest.

"Good," he smiled. "I'm glad."

"Are you?"

"Yes," he leaned against the balcony rail. "I'm happy."

"I have a problem, though."

"Yes?"

"Whom shall I say that I love? For my first love was Robin, the courageous boy who taught me how to live. My second love was Nightwing, who risked his all to help me. My third love was Dick Grayson, who shared his darkness with me. Whom is it that love?"

"That's a good question."

"I shall say that I love them all," she concluded with a chaste kiss to his lips. "For they are all you. A part of each of them remains in you. And I could not live if I could not love them all."

"So does this mean you'll marry me?"

"Most certainly."

_f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s_

A/N: Not done yet. One more chapter. Sorry, I lied in the last update. I meant to update sooner, but I had a little issue called a final exam. . . . .


	17. Epilogue: The Sunrise of the Soul

**Firestorm  
****Teen Titans/Batman: The Animated Series  
****Amos Whirly**

**Epilogue: The ****Sunrise**** of the Soul**

_But often faltering feet  
__Come surest to the goal  
__And those who walk in darkness  
__Meet the sunrise of the soul.  
- _Henry Van Dyke

I've had many names and many faces. As a child, I was comfortable in bright red tights and a mask. As an adult, I fled to the shadows, to darkness and black shades of justice. But I kept the mask.

But now?

Now I don't wear the mask anymore. I don't need to. After all, Starfire could see through me clearly when we were friends. Why should I wear it now that she's my wife?

I've lived on Tamaran now for a year. It's a bright, beautiful world with friendly people and fragrant winds, and, frankly, I don't even miss Earth.

But I _do _miss Alfred. And a part of me does wish that Bruce and I had parted on friendlier terms. He didn't want me to go. I'm sure of it. There was too much left to do on Earth, in Gotham. I didn't need to be running off with Starfire to the other side of the universe.

He didn't exactly say all that, but I know that's what he was thinking.

He didn't say goodbye. He really didn't speak at all when I left. Just shook my hand, wished me well, and retreated to his cave.

Star's expression told me that I should have gone after him.

I couldn't. I wasn't ready to give up that part of my heart yet – the part that wants to stay away from him. Maybe someday I will, but not that day. And not today, either.

Maybe tomorrow.

But probably not.

I wasn't sure how Starfire's people would react to me. That's why we didn't elope immediately. I wanted to make sure she would actually be happy with me there, that her people wouldn't hate her for bringing an Earthling home.

I guess they were all happy with me. Within months of my arrival, they began pressuring us to marry, encouraging us that they didn't mind having an Earthling for a king.

A king.

Me.

Who would have ever guessed it.

Since we've been here, the Titans have visited twice. Beast Boy spent a week trying to imitate a Tamaranian _dargstorp_. Yeah. That didn't work out too well. Cyborg hooked up with the royal mechanic, and together they came up with some enormous engine that could cut the travel time between Earth and Tamaran in half. Raven and Starfire spend a lot of time together. I wonder what they talk about sometimes. It has to have something to do with Blackfire.

Starfire had nightmares for months after that last battle, but now she seems to be recovering. Slowly, but surely.

And, now, Star's pregnant. Our first child. I'm going to be a father.

As if being king wasn't hard enough.

Barb and Tim send communications from time to time. Alfred talks with the palace cooks quite often, making sure that I'm eating right and enough.

I miss Alfred.

I never hear from Bruce.

I look up from a treatise for the preservation of Fenjarkian Zimbars as Star comes into the room. Her hair is styled high on her head, and she is wearing a white robe. It does not hide the bulge in her stomach.

"You are still working at this time of night?" she levels an appraising gaze at me.

"There's no bad guys to stop," I tease in return and stand to draw her into a loving embrace. My hand strays to her belly and stays there, feeling the kick of the child inside her. "What are we going to name him?"

"I'm not sure what we should name _her_."

"A good, strong name."

"A passionate, righteous name."

"Solid and manly."

"Gentile and feminine."

I grinned broadly, and she giggled, snuggling deeper into my arms. "Perhaps," she breathes against my neck, "the name will come to us. Let us just wait."

"I can do that."

We reclined on the balcony in each other's arms and watched the sky above us. Long ago I had learned where Earth was in the wide spectrum of diamonds in the velvety Tamaranian sky. It shone brilliant blue in a field of ebony.

"Do you miss it?" she asks me, once she saw where my gaze had stopped.

"No," I answer truthfully. "My place is with you."

"But it was your home."

"I've had a lot of homes, Star. Gotham. The Titans. My loft. Tamaran. But the one thing that's tied them all together and made them home was you. Either yourself or your memory. I never forgot you. Not as Robin. Not as Nightwing."

"Not as Dick Grayson?"

"Especially not as him."

"I am happy that you are home."

"Me too, Star. Me too."

Above us, at the other end of the universe, the planet Earth twinkled brightly in the Tamaranian sky.

**- The End -**

_f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s f s_

A/N: I know this isn't how the comic book ends, and it isn't how the television series (B:TAS) ends, and it isn't how TT probably ends – but this is how _Firestorm_ ends. Thanks to everyone who reviewed (and I mean EVERYONE). . . . There's a lot of people who commented on this one. I'm still in shock. And if anyone is wondering I _do _have a sequel planned for this, but I don't know when I'll get to it. I want to finish by _Cowboy Bebop_ story that's been on the back-back burner for months. AND I want to write a Christmas story commemorating my year anniversary at FFN. So – keep checking back! And thanks again! You all are the best!

Another A/N: oops . . . .I meant _epilogue_ . . . . not _prologue_ . . . . . stupid . . . .


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